If you’re not feeding your dogs eggs occasionally then you might want to start!
Eggs are incredibly nutritious for dogs and even if your dog needs to stay away from chicken and chicken eggs there are other types available!
Pepper has a duck or chicken egg every day with her breakfast, Ripley and Merlin have an egg every now and then which are Bantam for Ripley and Quail for Merlin as he’s not as keen on regular chicken eggs. Having our own poultry means an easy supply of each egg type!
Take a look at the lists to see what health benefits eggs provide:
- Duck and Chicken eggs are hugely nutritional for our dogs and can be fed raw, or prepared as scrambled, boiled etc.
- Eggs contain albumen; which benefits the Heart and Muscle Strengthening.
- Eggs contains Omega-3 fatty acids which improve everything from your dog’s brain health to their coat and skin health.
- Eggs are an alkaline producing food. This aids your dog’s body in fighting abnormal cell (cancer cell) formation because these cells cannot thrive in an alkaline environment. Duck eggs are better for this in particular.
- Raw Eggs contain Vitamin D, Vitamin A And Vitamin K2.
- Eggs also contain Selenium, Manganese, Zinc, Copper, Potassium, Sodium, Phosphorus, Calcium and Iron.
- Both contain similar amounts of thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and retinol, but just like minerals, duck eggs contain slightly higher amounts of each.
• • And once again, both eggs contain similar amounts of amino acids, but duck eggs contain more of each.
Duck Eggs v’s Chicken Eggs:
- Raw duck eggs have six times the amount of Vitamin D.
- Raw duck eggs have twice as much Vitamin A.
- Duck eggs have more Vitamin K2.
- Both duck and chicken eggs have the same carbohydrate content.
- Duck eggs are higher in protein.
- Both eggs contain similar amounts of selenium, manganese, zinc, copper, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium and iron, but duck eggs contain slightly higher amounts of these minerals.
- Both contain similar amounts of thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and retinol, but just like minerals, duck eggs contain slightly higher amounts of each.
- And once again, both eggs contain similar amounts of amino acids, but duck eggs contain more of each.
- Raw duck eggs have 6 times the amount of Vitamin D.
- Raw duck eggs have twice as much Vitamin A.
- Duck eggs have more Vitamin K2.
- Both duck and chicken eggs have the same carbohydrate content.
- Duck eggs are higher in protein.
- Both eggs contain similar amounts of selenium, manganese, zinc, copper, potassium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium and iron, but duck eggs contain slightly higher amounts of these minerals.
- Both contain similar amounts of thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin B12 and retinol, but just like minerals, duck eggs contain slightly higher amounts of each.
- And once again, both eggs contain similar amounts wof amino acids, but duck eggs contain more of each.
An additional benefit of duck eggs is that many dogs that are allergic to chicken eggs are able to eat duck eggs without allergic reactions – or vice versa!
How you serve the eggs is up to you; personally I feed raw mostly as my dogs are raw fed but boiling them, poaching etc will all be absolutely fine too! If you fry them just be careful of what oil you use in the pan and obviously don’t season the eggs!
Eggs should be given in moderation as with anything in a dog’s diet. Try an egg once and see how your dog got on with it; did they enjoy eating it? Was their stomach fine that day and the next day? If all looks ok then giving a few times a week can provide huge health benefits to your dog. Once a week will also provide great benefits too!
I feed my dogs eggs from my own flocks including regular chicken and duck eggs, as well as Bantam chicken and Quail eggs too!
There is also the white membrane on the inside of the shell. I do remove this and feed to my dogs here and there as it contains nutrients such as collagen and glucosamine so can help dogs with;
- Joint Pain
- Stiffness in the Joints
- Reduced Mobility
- A weakened Immune System
- Skin Problems
So even if we have the eggs I’ll peel some of the membrane off the shell and put on my dog’s dinner for them. If your dog doesn’t want to eat an egg you could try the membrane for its own nutrients.
I have been asked before about feeding the shell and this is down to personal preference. My own dogs don’t like the shell and never eat it. I know dogs who eat everything as it is inc the shell. The shell doesn’t have anything additional to the membrane mentioned just above other than calcium, but if your dog has a calcium deficiency there are lots of ways of boosting this.
Might you try your dog with an egg?
Eggs : a Superfood in tasty packaging!!
Joe Nutkins
Not a Nutritionist, but does heavy research for her own dogs!
Kennel Club Accredited Dog Trainer
