Bengaluru: Spoilers ahead for chicken eaters! Rumours have been spread in Kunigal taluk that poultry farms have been feeding alcohol to chicken to fatten them.

Though Animal Husbandry Department has refuted any such reports, it is learnt that few poultry farms in Bengaluru have been experimenting with alcohol so that the chicken gains weight. The poultry farms have been cashing in as the chicken prices have started soaring following the ban on cow slaughter by the central government and the prices are likely to further up.

According to reports, among 60 poultry farms in Kunigal, few of them have started feeding low-cost liquor mixed with regular feed to chicken. It is said that the alcohol-fed chicken consumes more food and water gaining more weight. The owner ultimately reaps profits here.

However, Dr. Naveen B R, Assistant Director (In-Charge) Kunigal, reacted to the rumours and said that no complaint had been filed in this regard. People are saying that low-quality alcohol is being fed to chicken. There is no such study to prove that alcohol-fed chicken consumes more food. “However, it is presumed that when alcohol enters the body, dehydration takes place because of which the hen may drink more water and consume more food. Based on just an assumption, we cannot come to the conclusion that the body weight has increased and still poultry owners are making profits out of it. These are purely unscientific reports,” he added.