Can rats eat chicken?

[Peter Williams]

I have a chicken carcass left over from last nights dinner, is it ok to leave it in with my rats for 20 mins or so and let them pick it clean?

[GirDance]

No. Chicken bones are brittle and a choking hazard. They WILL knaw at the bones and its not worth the risk of ingesting a bone splinter IMO.

Cooked chicken though is typically fine, but the entire carcass not the best idea.

[TheMissingLink]

No. Chicken bones are brittle and a choking hazard. They WILL knaw at the bones and its not worth the risk of ingesting a bone splinter IMO.

Cooked chicken though is typically fine, but the entire carcass not the best idea.

People on here give their rats wing bones all the time without problems.

[GirDance]

People on here give their rats wing bones all the time without problems.

Wing bones and rib bones are completely different. The thicker the bone the less likely it is to splinter. The less time a bone has been cooked the less likely it is to splinter because it has more moisWork in a vet for 4 years and you'd be amazed the amount of animals you see in surgery or euthanized because of bone shards causing internal damage.

To me it's just not worth it.

[wolfy-hound]

I feed my rats leftover chicken all the time. Haven't had any issues.
I don't feed my DOGS chicken bones ever, but the rats gnaw bits off, and seem fine with it.
It's only my opinion and what I do with my rats.

[MarkS]

Go ahead and feed it to them. I've never had a problem with a rat choking to death. Rats chew their food really well, they don't wolf it down like a dog will.

[monk90222]

My rats love the leftover wings and legs from our chicken dinners

[Entropy]

My rats also love their chicken...and pasta...and whatever else I toss in there for them.

[littleindiangirl]

Wing bones and rib bones are completely different. The thicker the bone the less likely it is to splinter. The less time a bone has been cooked the less likely it is to splinter because it has more moisWork in a vet for 4 years and you'd be amazed the amount of animals you see in surgery or euthanized because of bone shards causing internal damage.

To me it's just not worth it.

Rats gnaw, they do not chew the bones like a dog. They also have a flap of skin in their mouth that prevents what they are gnawing from being swallowed.

I would think either is fine. I have fed all of my rats all kinds of chicken and bones and they love them. The only reason I would avoid uncooked bones is because of bacteria and nasties from raw chicken and other meat.

[kc261]

Work in a vet for 4 years and you'd be amazed the amount of animals you see in surgery or euthanized because of bone shards causing internal damage.

GirDance, I'd be curious to know if all of those animals that had the problems with bone shards were cats & dogs, or did it include rats?

My understanding was that because of the way rats gnaw on things, and that when a chicken bone splinters, the pieces are still too big for a rat to swallow, it wasn't a problem for them.

I agree with you about keeping chicken bones away from dogs though. A good friend of mine lost a dog because it found a dead goose and ate some of it and ended up puncturing something in its digestive tract. And those weren't even cooked bones!