Can Dogs Eat Rotisserie Chicken?

The Short Answer is:

The answer is yes, they can. This is a great source of protein for your dog. However, you need to think carefully about what role it will play in their overall diet. It shouldn’t be the main part of their diet unless you have taken a lot of advice from experts on homemade dog diets.

The purpose of this article is to explain the “Can Dogs Eat Rotisserie Chicken?“.

Did you just walk into your local grocery store and see the rotisserie chicken cabinets?

The price just made you do a double-take did not it?

Chicken is cheap and who does not like chicken?

Is there any dog that does not like chicken?

In the end I pay a fortune for his food at the moment and eating fresh chicken would surely be better for him wouldnot it?

What do you think? Lets find out shall we?

Lets begin with some basics. 

What is rotisserie chicken?

Rotisserie chickens are whole chickens that have been cooked on a skewer or spit. 

On a skewer the chicken is placed close to a heat source (such as gas or electricity) which cooks it as it rotates around.

Why are rotisserie chickens so popular?

The main reason why rotisserie chickens are so popular is that people love to eat chicken particularly in the US and they are generally very inexpensive- often cheaper than raw whole chickens. 

In 2010 the US sold six hundred million rotisserie chickens. By 2018 that number had risen to nine hundred million. 

In 2017 Costco an American supermarket chain sold 87 million rotisserie chickens. 

Two Potential dangers of rotisserie chicken

In a rotisserie chicken shop the chicken is likely injected with brine before it is roasted.

The meat is kept moist as it cooks by injecting brine into the chickens.

However most brines contain a lot of salt something that your dog does not need more of in his diet.

It is likely that chickens roasted at home will not have been brined but they may have been rubbed with oil or butter before roasting.

However I will talk more about this later.

The second danger associated with rotisserie chicken is that chickens purchased from a grocery store are often close to their “sell by” dates.

The chickens should be eaten within a day or two of being purchased which is fine.

In spite of popular belief dogs cannot consume rotten meat.

A rotten chicken might contain a lot of nasty bacteria that could harm your dog. 

Next I want to provide a quick comparison.

What effects do different cooking methods have on the nutritional value of chicken that our dog might consume?

Rotisserie chicken vs roast chicken vs boiled chicken

You can see some simple nutrition data below showing the differences between rotisserie roast and boiled chicken.

A few of these things surprise me now.

There are so many similarities in the nutrition within these different varieties of chicken.

They are nearly identical if calories are your main concern. 

Fat and sodium content are the main differences. 

As a result of the salt used in the brine rotisserie chicken has twice the sodium content of roasted chicken.

The sodium content of roasted chicken however is over twice that of boiled chicken. 

Rotisserie chicken and roast chicken have similar fat contents but boiled chickens fat content is about half that of rotisserie chicken. 

Now that we have studied the nutritional composition of different types of cooked chicken let us turn our attention to different parts of the rotisserie chicken.

Can dogs eat rotisserie chicken skin?

Chicken skin has a high-fat content which makes it hard to eat.

In fact it is 40% fat and contains 450 calories and 20 grams of protein per 100 grams.  

It is not a good idea to feed your dog food with such a high-fat content and little else nutritionally. 

Burned skin on rotisserie chicken is another drawback.

Burnt foods have been linked to cancer in the past. There was a scare a few years ago about humans eating them.

We have now ruled this out. 

In addition to the high-fat content of rotisserie chicken skin burnt food is harder to digest so I’d recommend taking it off before feeding it to your dog. 

Wow! After we have dealt with the skin lets move on to the bones. 

Can dogs eat rotisserie chicken bones?

Can you just throw a whole rotisserie chicken at your dog skin bones and all and let them eat it all?

Please accept my apologies for shattering your illusions- first about the skin and now about the bones.

There is a lot of controversy about whether or not dogs should eat animal bones.

However I am fairly certain that cooked animal bones are more dangerous for dogs than raw bones.

While roasting a chicken the bones become harder and more brittle.

It is more likely that a dog will bite into a cooked chicken bone and the bone will break into a piece with extremely sharp ends making it more difficult to swallow.

Also some of the bones in chickens are small enough that a dog could swallow them whole making them choking hazards in their own right. 

My advice is that you should strip the flesh away from the bones just as you would with a rotisserie chicken before feeding it to your dog. 

How much rotisserie chicken should I feed my dog?

The answer to this question will depend on how much chicken your dog will eat.

I’ll tell you whats going on.

It is likely that some of you will include rotisserie chickens as part of a homemade diet for your dog.

This article does not cover homemade dog food diets.

It is only by providing your dog with a variety of real foods that they can get lots of nutrients.

The dogs diet can include chicken but it cannot provide everything he needs.

Since I have tried this myself I know how complicated it is.

If you want to add some rotisserie chicken to your dogs diet this is a better approach.

Imagine for example that your dog consumes a complete diet of dry or canned food and you would like to use rotisserie chicken as a topping or garnish?

The idea seems reasonable.

Adding 10% of the total diet is a good guideline for how much to add.

If your dog eats 400g of kibble a day add up to 40g of chicken.

You should also feed them 10% less kibble!

Can dogs eat rotisserie chicken every day?

You can add any additional food you want to your dogs diet.

You should not feed them vegetables or meat every day whether its vegetables or meat.

You can vary it a bit.

If you can avoid it do not feed them rotisserie chicken every single day.

Look for a cheap source of good quality meat and sometimes add it to their diet.

This also applies to any vegetable you might want to add.

Make sure you do not just focus on the nutritional value of vegetable X or vegetable Y.

Incorporate a variety of vegetables into your dogs diet over time.

Could rotisserie chicken cause dog diarrhea?

While most of this article has been quite positive about how good rotisserie chicken can be for your dog it does have its dark side.

The downside is dog diarrhea for some people. 

According to my experience this can happen for two reasons.

Firstly its because the chicken was rotten when you fed it to your dog.

Some dogs can eat slightly rotten meat while others have difficulties digesting it.

Second your dog might have had diarrhea after eating rotisserie chicken because they ate too much of it or because it is a new food and their stomach has trouble processing it.

Its the same thing if you think about it!

Can dogs eat rotisserie chicken?

Lastly I’d like to answer the main question in your mind.

Rotisserie chicken is safe for dogs to eat?

The answer is yes they can.

This is a great source of protein for your dog. 

However you need to think carefully about what role it will play in their overall diet.

It should not be the main part of their diet unless you have taken a lot of advice from experts on homemade dog diets.

Remember to remove the skin and bones from it before feeding it to your dog as an occasional addition since they will not be of any benefit to him.

Consider how much salt shop-bought rotisserie chickens seem to contain.

Amanda (Author)

With over a decade of experience, Amanda is a distinguished dog trainer. Her expertise in canine behavior has transformed countless lives, fostering harmonious human-canine connections. Through compassionate and personalized approaches, she empowers owners to understand and connect with their furry companions, creating a legacy of joyful tails and transformed lives.

Osvaldo Maciel (Content Reviewer)

Osvaldo Maciel, a stalwart in the field with 14 years of experience, is a revered dog trainer. His journey is defined by a profound understanding of canine behavior, shaping unbreakable human-canine bonds. Osvaldo guides owners to connect with their beloved pets, leaving an indelible mark of happiness and transformation. His legacy shines through the countless lives he has touched.