# Chicken Bones



## Nev&Remus (Nov 4, 2015)

Have I read somewhere that it is safe to give rats chicken bones? We've had a chicken for dinner and I saved two reasonable sized ones for them. Just wanted to doubke check before I let them loose.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Yes it is safe, and they will LOVE it. Last time I did it, I put a big chicken bone thinking it was enough for three rats. One rat managed to run away with the entire thing, it was so funny. Fortunately, I had another one for the other 2 rats


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## Nev&Remus (Nov 4, 2015)

OMG they're going crazy! Two between four here, I'm creased laughing at them carrying it around, especially little Albie. Definitely need one each next time haha. Thanks Griboulli.


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## Grotesque (Mar 19, 2014)

So we're talking COOKED chicken bones, right? They won't splinter? Is it okay if they actually eat them?


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

Grotesque said:


> So we're talking COOKED chicken bones, right? They won't splinter? Is it okay if they actually eat them?


Yes cooked chicken bones. And it is ok if they eat some of it too They will chew at it and eat the extra meat left on it. You will find some pieces in the cage, but nothing sharp or dangerous. Nothing is 100% risk free, but I never had any issues with giving them chicken bones or beef bones; and never heard of someone who had issues with it either.


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## Gribouilli (Dec 25, 2015)

The only issue would be to give them too salty bones, too often. Rats don't need extra salt on their food. The natural sodium present in fresh foods and what is in their pellets is enough. If you want to give them bones many times a week, I would put it in some water for a few minutes to get rid of most of the salt. Also maybe they could get too much calcium if they had bones more than a few times a week and were to eat too much of it...not sure but a possibility.


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## Nieve5552 (May 20, 2014)

Rats gnaw on the bones, so they wont splinter  My rats love to break them open and eat the marrow, and after a few hours or the next morning I'd find hollow pieces of bone with the insides scraped out clean. Marrow is great for health too. I only give bones minimum once every 3-4 weeks as too much protein isnt good for them. Lamb bones are great too as its much more solid than chicken bones and last through hours of chewing and gnawing. If the bones have spices/salt, boiling them for a few minutes in plain water before giving to the rats would help.

The first time I gave them chicken bones though, when I found the hollow piece of bone the next morning I freaked out because the piece looked like a degloved skin from a rat tail, and I'd forgotten about giving them the bone! Almost gave me a heart attack until I remembered lol


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## Fu-Inle (Jan 22, 2015)

I've been giving my rats chicken bones for years and I've never had problems. They completely gnaw the ends off and eat the marrow.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Once a week we get a rotisserie chicken from Price Chopper (grocery store), usually the day before cleaning day. After everyone has finished their dinner, I just toss the entire carcass in the cage for the night. They LOVE it.


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## Ratloved (Oct 4, 2015)

RatAtat, that's hilarious , I give mine bones all the time, but I rarely buy a whole chicken. I might have to now just to see what they do with the whole carcass, lol. Thanks for the idea. I make teriyaki pork chops frequently, they LOVE the bones from that.


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## Nev&Remus (Nov 4, 2015)

Grotesque said:


> So we're talking COOKED chicken bones, right? They won't splinter? Is it okay if they actually eat them?


This is why I double checked. I know you can't give them to dogs for that reason. Definitely cooked, I pulled a couple of decent sized bones from the carcass once I'd finished picking off the meat for us. They went CRAZY over them. They gnawed off the ends and were sat eating the middle when I went to bed. I'm curious to see what remains this morning. I think it'd be a dream come true to get the whole thing hahaha.


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## Nev&Remus (Nov 4, 2015)

Nieve5552 said:


> The first time I gave them chicken bones though, when I found the hollow piece of bone the next morning I freaked out because the piece looked like a degloved skin from a rat tail, and I'd forgotten about giving them the bone! Almost gave me a heart attack until I remembered lol


OMG Nieve hahaha! I can see why. I'm glad you said this, maybe help me not to freak when I go searching for remains this morning.


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## RatAtat2693 (Jan 13, 2016)

Ratloved said:


> RatAtat, that's hilarious , I give mine bones all the time, but I rarely buy a whole chicken. I might have to now just to see what they do with the whole carcass, lol. Thanks for the idea. I make teriyaki pork chops frequently, they LOVE the bones from that.


My human family eats the chicken. The rats get the leftovers.

They usually strip it within a day or two.


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