What are the benefits of eggs?
Eggs are a nutrient dense food. they are classified as being a high-quality protein, containing all essential amino acids, antioxidants and healthy fats.
Eggs are known to be one of the most complete food sources, after all, they sustain life!
Eggs help to regulate the nervous system, through the choline content, and help protect eye health through lutein and other antioxidants.
Eggs contain so many nutrients, including vitamin A, folate, riboflavin, vitamin B12, iron & selenium.
Eggs are a great source of nutrients that can aid all parts of a dog's body from joints to eye health, to skin to digestion.
Eggs are packed with protein and are rich in essential amino acids and fatty acids.
Eggs even include anti-oxidants. They are a source of Lutein & Zeaxanthin
Types of eggs
There are actually a variety of eggs that you can feed to your dog.
Some are free range, others are organic. others are neither. it is always worth knowing which you choose to feed your dog. the healthier the layer, the healthier the egg!
You can feed any egg to your dog, whether it be quail, chicken, duck, turkey, goose - just feed it appropriately so don't give a whole goose egg to a miniature breed of dog in one sitting for example.
If a dog is unable to tolerate 1 type of egg, you can try whisking it and giving it in smaller doses at first before building up as tolerance improves, or you can try a different type of egg, or if you used farmed or free range previously, try organic!
How much & ways to feed
The recommendation is to feed eggs 2-3 times a week, however how many this is will vary dog to dog depending on size.
The reason the recommendation is 2-3 times is because it spreads the nutrients out across the week.
A toy breed is likely to need up to 6 quail eggs a week, so 1-2 quail eggs, 2-3 times a week. whereas a large breed is likely to need 3-4 quail eggs, 2-3 times a week. a giant breed will likely need 1 goose egg 2-3 times a week, whereas a medium breed would need half a goose egg 2-3 times a week.
Eggs can be fed raw. in fact, doing so is better as the egg is in it's natural state.
You may serve it whole still in the shell in the UK, or you may whisk it up.
Egg is also hydrating so can be supportive in times of illness, and they are naturally binding too
Eggs can be fed raw, or you can crack them into moulds to freeze (quail eggs can be frozen whole)
Risks of feeding eggs?
⁉️ What about salmonella? As long as humans practise basic food hygiene when preparing food for dogs, there is no risk here. Dogs digestive juices mean this is not a big risk for them.
⁉️ What about Biotin deficiency from feeding Eggs? Egg whites contain a biotin inhibitor, avidin. Egg yolks are very high in biotin though so if you feed the whole egg and a good raw diet, this is not a risk.
⚠️ Eggshells are NOT a substitute for bone content as it does not contain Phosphorus or Magnesium
What about the risks?
SALMONELLA - salmonella is more commonly found in caged hens so buying from cage free sources is much safer. Dogs are very resilient though too, in fact salmonella poisoning in dogs is very rare, plus their saliva is Anti-bacterial too. Humans can negate risks by practising basic food hygiene methods such as cleaning hands and utensils etc properly.
BIOTIN DEFICIENCY - Egg yolks contain a significant amount of biotin, whereas egg whites contain avidin, which inhibits biotin. If you feed the whole egg, there is nothing to worry about. Some people cook the egg to minimize risks; however, this actually risks losing a significant amount of nutrition from the egg, so raw is best!
EGG SHELLS - In the UK, there is no risk in feeding egg shells. In fact, a 2016 study found that the thin layer of membrane inside the shell is a great support for dogs suffering from joint issues, as it is rich in collagen, chondroitin, hyaluronic acid, and glucosamine.
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