What roman general took sacred chickens and threw them overboard?

The Roman general who famously threw sacred chickens overboard was Publius Claudius Pulcher. This incident occurred during the First Punic War in 249 BCE when he sought to gain favor from the gods before a naval battle against Carthage. When the chickens refused to eat, he declared that they were unfit for the gods and tossed them overboard, leading to a disastrous defeat for the Roman fleet, which many interpreted as a sign of divine displeasure.