Can rats eat chicken or cooked meat?

Yes, cooked and plain. A small piece of boiled or baked chicken or lean meat is a safe, high-quality protein for rats — with no spices and no salt.

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Serving

Small piece

How to prepare

Boiled or baked — absolutely NO spices, NO salt

Benefits

High-quality protein, especially good for nursing mothers or babies.

The details

The PDSA lists small pieces of lean meat among suitable occasional treats, and it is especially good for nursing mothers and young rats. Never feed raw meat, because of the salmonella risk, and never give cooked bones, which can splinter.

How treats fit into a rat's diet

Most of what a rat eats each day should be a complete rat pellet or nugget, weighed out from the pack guidelines. Fresh fruit, vegetables and treats come out of that daily allowance, not on top of it: the RSPCA warns that extra sugar and fat lead to obesity and health problems, and rats gain weight easily. Remove any fresh food that hasn't been eaten within a few hours.