If you’ve never owned a hamster, it may surprise you that hamsters eat meat. Don’t let their cuteness fool you; these little balls of fluff are omnivorous, meaning they eat both vegetation and meat.
So, yes, hamsters can eat chicken; they might even end up enjoying it! And as long as you only use chicken as an occasional treat, your pet won’t have any issues.
But why should your hamster eat chicken? Does this type of meat provide them with any benefits? What are the dangers of eating too much chicken?
We’ll be answering these questions and more in today’s article. So read on!
Hamsters and meat
In the wild, the typical hamster diet consists of grasses, grains, and seeds. They also chow down on the occasional meat in the form of tiny insects, grubs, and worms. They’re even known to consume small lizards and frogs.
However, wild hamsters don’t hunt down chickens for food; indeed, the very idea is ridiculous. So why should your pet hamster eat chicken?
Aside from the fact that chicken is conveniently available, affordable, and delicious, it’s also low in calories and rich in protein. In short, it’s an excellent source of nutrients every hamster needs to stay healthy, happy, and strong.
Nevertheless, meat of any type isn’t a requirement for your hamster to survive. Too much chicken can even be bad for your little furball. But before we get to that, let’s talk about what makes chicken so good as a snack for your hammy.
Why chicken is good for hamsters
In small doses, lean, white meat such as chicken, fish, and shrimp are good for hamsters. Why? It all boils down to their nutritional content.
Protein
Chicken is rich in protein – a nutrient every animal needs to stay alive and healthy.
Protein is necessary for the development of strong, healthy muscles. It also transports oxygen to cells throughout the body, making numerous biological processes possible, including the conversion of food into energy and the maintenance of the immune system’s health.
The average adult hamster requires 17% to 19% protein in their diet. Without this nutrient, they’ll not only grow weak but also increasingly susceptible to infections and illnesses.
Low fat
Hamsters – especially dwarf hamsters – are prone to obesity. This is why every hamster owner should take their pet’s diet seriously.
Thankfully, chicken has far less fat than red meat. So if you’re going to feed your hamster meat, feed them chicken instead of beef, pork, or lamb.
Vitamins and minerals
Chicken meat provides vitamin B, which hamsters need to combat stress.
Chicken is also loaded with essential minerals, including zinc and copper. These nutrients allow the hamster’s body to break proteins down.
No sugar
Too much sugar can make your hamster gain unnecessary weight. This is why you should limit their intake of sugary foods including certain types of fruit.
Thankfully, chicken contains zero sugar, making it an extremely healthy choice for hammies.
Why too much chicken is bad for hamsters
You know what they say: too much of a good thing is bad for you. Despite all the health benefits chicken can provide your hammy, too much of this meat can cause the following issues:
Obesity
Lean, white meat contains less fat than other kinds of meat. However, chicken still contains more fat than vegetation.
Therefore, devouring surplus amounts of chicken can be fattening for your hamster.
A hamster that’s grown obese due to overfeeding on chicken exposes themselves to a slew of serious health risks, chief among them heart disease and diabetes. So if you want your pet to live a long, healthy life, a daily diet of chicken is a strict no-no.
Kidney issues
Meat is dense in protein. If your hamster eats an excess of chicken, their protein intake will go beyond the appropriate levels of 17% to 19%.
Because the hamster body isn’t built to handle all that extra protein, chicken overload can result in kidney damage and related complications.
Digestive problems
Most types of meat, including chicken meat, are acidic. The overconsumption of chicken can therefore hurt your hammy’s sensitive stomach.
The right way to feed your hamster chicken
If you’re going to feed your hamster chicken, it’s best to do it right. This means giving your pet the appropriate chicken serving size per meal, along with other things.
Serving frequency and size
You should only feed chicken to your hamster 1 to 3 times per week.
The serving size is best left small – a quarter of a tablespoon per feeding session for an average-sized adult hamster. You’ll need even less for a dwarf. At any rate, make sure to chop the chicken up into tiny bits to prevent choking.
In addition, the feeding frequency and serving size should be adjusted if you plan on giving your hamster other types of protein in the same week.
For example, if one week you want them to enjoy chicken and fish, you can give them chicken twice and fish once (or vice versa) that week. If you want to feed them chicken, fish, and shrimp, you can give them each type of meat once that week.
Cooked vs. raw chicken
Uncooked meat may be home to dangerous pathogens such as salmonella, which, when eaten, can cause fever, diarrhea, and stomach cramps. For this reason, never feed your hamster raw chicken or any other type of raw meat.
While chicken should be cooked before feeding it to your hamster, the cooking method is also important.
Boiling the chicken is best, though you can also bake, steam, or roast the meat as long as it’s kept as plain as possible. These methods preserve crucial nutrients while not adding any unnecessary ones to the meat.
Don’t fry the chicken, as it’ll only raise the meat’s calorie and salt content. For similar reasons, you should avoid using seasonings such as pepper, salt, or other spices when cooking the meat. Don’t use oil or fat, either.
Chicken breast vs. other chicken parts
The part of the chicken with the least fat is the breast, making it the ideal treat for your hammy.
A 3-ounce chicken breast with no skin contains around 140 calories, 3 grams of fat, and 1 gram of saturated fat. In contrast, 3 ounces of skinless, darker meat from another part of the same bird can have as many as 170 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 3 grams of saturated fat.
How about chicken skin? Can hamsters eat chicken skin?
Chicken skin has the highest fat content of all the bird’s parts. According to Nutrition Value, a serving of chicken skin weighing 3.5 ounces can contain around 450 calories and 40 grams of fat.
Following the skin in fat content is the wing, then the thigh, the drumstick, and finally, the breast.
In short, stick with chicken breast!
Chicken dishes to avoid
Due to the high-calorie, high-salt content of most prepared foods, we suggest you don’t feed your hamster the following chicken dishes:
- Barbecue chicken
- Breaded chicken
- Butter chicken
- Chicken burger
- Chicken casserole
- Chicken curry
- Chicken lollipops
- Chicken nuggets
- Chicken pizza
- Chicken soup
- Garlic chicken
- Lemon chicken
- Etc…
Introducing chicken to your hamster
When giving your hamster a treat they’ve never had before, it’s best to not give them too much too quickly.
The introductory serving size should be even smaller than the recommended amount – so less than a quarter of a tablespoon for an adult hamster of average size.
After your hamster eats this minuscule portion of chicken, observe them for a few days for health issues such as diarrhea. If no such problems occur, give them a slightly larger amount of chicken.
Continue doing this for a week or more so your hamster gets used to the new food. Once you’re confident chicken isn’t making your hamster sick, you can start giving them the suggested serving size 1 to 3 times every week.
If your hamster ignores the chicken, they likely don’t want any of it. Throw away any uneaten meat before it rots.
On the off-chance your hamster becomes ill after their chicken snack, seek veterinary assistance.
Other meat your hamster can eat
The meat of tiny insects, grubs, and worms is rich in nutrients crucial to hamsters. These are the kinds of meat your pet’s wild cousins commonly dine on.
Pet stores offer these foods dried and packaged or living.
Live creatures are sometimes preferable to their dried varieties because the former has to be caught before they can be eaten. Prior to every feast, your hamster therefore gets some exercise – which is, of course, necessary for them to stay in shape.
Final thoughts…
While too much chicken can fatten your beloved pet, this lean, white meat is an excellent source of protein and other nutrients every hamster needs for a happy, healthy life. As long as the food is consumed in moderation, you can be sure your hamster will enjoy and benefit from this delicious treat.