Many of us have seen pigeons eat foods that many would consider being only for human consumption, pigeons in the wild aren’t known to eat foods such as French fries, burgers, and the wide variety of bread that humans enjoy.

In the wild, they are known to eat foods like insects, fruits, grains seeds, snails, and worms, but what about foods like chicken? Do pigeons eat chicken? This article looks into it. 

Pigeons can eat chicken, this food is not a common feature in pigeon diets but if pigeons have nothing else to eat they will happily eat chicken. Chicken offers good amounts of protein which the pigeon’s body can use for tissue building especially during breeding, molting, and growing.

Do pigeons eat chicken?

Meats like chicken, fish, beef, and pork are not common features in pigeon diets. That being said, if offered a piece of cooked chicken, a pigeon will accept and eat the food.

A pigeon’s beak is designed to eat grains, if it were to stumble on a chicken corpse in the wild, the pigeon wouldn’t be able to eat it. Cooked chicken is much softer than uncooked chicken. Cooking this meat makes it easier for chickens to peck at and eat.

That being said, just because your pigeon eats a piece of chicken doesn’t mean that it should. There are pros and cons to pigeons eating chicken:

Benefits of pigeons eating chicken:

One benefit that pigeons can enjoy as a result of eating chicken is the health benefit.

Chicken is one of the healthier meats, this meat is healthy for both humans and other animals. This meat is lower in saturated fats and cholesterol plus it contains high levels of protein.

If a pigeon is lacking in this essential nutrient, eating chicken is a great way to supplement its diet.

Risks of pigeons eating chicken:

There are also cons to pigeons eating chicken.

Pigeons need protein, in the wild, pigeons get protein from a number of plants. When these birds eat plants they instinctively know how much to eat as not to overdo it.

Because chicken has high levels of protein your pigeon can easily consume too much protein without realizing it.

Too much protein in a pigeon’s body can result in kidney failure. If you’re planning on serving chicken to your pigeon, only offer the bird small amounts of chicken.

Because chicken is not a regular part of a pigeon’s diet, the addition of this food can cause the pigeon to develop stomach issues.

Signs of pigeons suffering from stomach issues, as a result of eating chicken, can include bad moods, sudden aggression, attacking other birds as well as worsened fecal matter. 

Do pigeons eat other types of meat? 

Pigeons can eat a variety of different meats as long as the meat is cooked well enough and does not have any seasonings. Other types of meats offer pigeons good amounts of protein and a variety of other nutrients.

The most protein-rich meats include lean beef and veal. If your bird needs it, this added protein can help in the tissue development of the pigeon.

That being said, it is still important to remember not to overfeed your pigeon meat because meat can be high in calories, it can be high in saturated fats, can cause an overload of protein, can contain antibiotics, and can be too fatty.

Yes, pigeons can eat a variety of meats but the best meat for your bird is fish and poultry. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, yes pigeons can eat chicken, in fact, chicken is one of the better meats to feed your bird as it offers good amounts of protein and is not too fatty. If your pigeon is lacking in protein, feeding the bird protein will be beneficial.

That being said, feeding your bird a diet of too much meat can cause kidney failure so moderation is always recommended. Avoid feeding your pigeon red meat as it is generally high in fat and can negatively affect your bird’s health

If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other pigeon related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Can pigeons eat oats?,  Do pigeons eat clay?, Do pigeons eat bugs?, Do pigeons eat meat?