Eggs

[whatevah]

Are eggs safe to feed dogs? How often can you feed dogs eggs? Can you give them the whole egg?

My chooks are laying heaps of eggs and we cannot keep up.

[KitKat]

I'd only give a couple of eggs a week to each dog, but they are fine to be fed to them. Crack the eggs and toss the shells into the freezer, every so often take the frozen shells out and grind them into a powder...easy calcium for the dogs

[ElectraWoman]

I think whole eggs are fine - that is, shell, egg white and egg yolk. I used to feed Abel an egg a day, and didn't find any adverse effects.

I usually give Abel the whole egg, and let him crack it open. He seems to enjoy the challenge

[KOE`VU]

What about for an 11 week old pup. Alaskan Malamute... I have heard that eggs are good for dogs but is it too early?

Edited April 8, 2005 by KOE`VU

[KitKat]

The eggs are fine...just don't feed too many..too much protien, adn i think if a dog gets too many their poo could get a bit messy, as they are a bit rich.

The reason i mentioned to crack the eggs and freeze the shells was so the dogs didn't pick up the idea to steal the eggs from the chooks themselves.

For my dogs i crack the eggs and throw them in with the rest of the food, shell and all.

[joysseven]

This is the first time that I have posted to this forum. I feed an egg a day but was told to only feed cooked eggs. As raw eggs were not good especially to young pups. Could someone please tell me if this is true or not. Cheers.

[KitKat]

I think it's up to you really...cooking takes out a lot of the nutrients but cooked egg is easier to serve to the dog etc.

Just mix the egg up in the dogs food or some milk, that's all i did.

[joysseven]

I always boil the eggs first then add to their dinner shell included.

I used to feed them raw till I was told that it was not good for them.

I would much prefer to feed raw as long as I know that is is safe.

[caffiend42]

I've heard too that until about 6 months you shouldn't feed egg white. Just as a precaution I've just used the yolk, but also put the shells in the patty mix and tossed the white.

I'd love to see Indy's reaction with a whole egg though!

I don't cook them though.

[KitKat]

I think it's as long as you don't feed just the white to the dog it's fine, something in the yolk counteracts what's in the white...if that makes sense...lol

so you can feed the yolk, or the yolk and white...but not just the white

[Ezza]

I feed my two a raw egg each a couple of times per week. No shell though as neither of them will eat it. Even when I have given them a whole egg, they will break it open, eat the middle, and leave the shell for me to pick up later.

[joysseven]

Thanks for that I will go back to feeding the raw egg to the old guys in future and take out the white for the little fellow.

Thanks again for all your help. And I will not panic.

[BLADES]

Hi all, i was once told years ago by a guy who used to give his horses egg shells (crushed) that it used to get rid of things in the lineing of the horses stomach like dirt and bot fly eggs, i used to think, would that work with dogs,? I never knew cause i never brought it up untill i seen KitKat's remark on egg shells, i know i used to grind it up for my chooks as a source of calcium.

[ninaandted]

the whites of the eggs can bind with biotin and prevent its absorption, but if your dog is getting a well rounded diet it should have minimal effect unless you are feedling lots of eggs!!!

I'd heard that boiled eggs will constipate dogs but this could be an urban myth - it was told to me by someone who was talking about stories they had heard about racing greyhounds and other owners sabotaging a dog just before the race. like I said though - could be a comlete fallacy.

[fifi]

my understanding is that the whites of the egg contain albumin, which can inhibit some nurtrient uptake.

we feed egg yolks, and sometimes the fresh egg shell wizzed in the blender,

I've always given pups a few eggs a week, great source of protien.

fifi

[Christina77]

I crack two eggs into a jar (jam jar) , add 3/4 milk , shake it up and that's what both the cat and dog share once a week.

sometimes I open a couple of cod liver oil capsules and add that as well , or a little olive oil.

[whatevah]

Thanx heaps for the replys. I think the general concensus is that you feed your dogs raw eggs but only a couple of times a week? I won';t be giving them shells though, I don';t want them to steal.

[sas]

My pooches get 2 eggs a week, egg whites as well, I may not use the whites now after reading this thread.

Haven't noticed any adverse reactions. I didn't even think to feed them the shell.

[Kez]

Biotin (a B-complex vitamin) is required by dogs for the metabolism of carbohydrates, protein & fats, and for efficient gut synthesis... A biotin deficiency is not common with regular diets except where raw egg whites are fed, or long term antibiotic therapy is given.

Egg yolks are the best source of biotin, whereas raw meat only contains about 3 micrograms biotin per 100 grams of meat.

Raw egg whites contain avidin (an enzyme) which destroys biotin, hence why egg whites should be cooked to destroy the avidin.

"Cooking" is as simple as separating the yolk from the white, and dropping the whites into a cup of boiling water & let sit until it cools enough to add to the dog's dry food for soaking - OR - you can strain the water off.

Whole crushed eggs contain about 12% protein, 11% fat and 3.3% calcium.

Raw egg Yolks contain 15% protein and up to 31% fat.

No more than 4 cooked eggs per day as eggs release hydrogen sulphide gas into the bowel during digestion, but up to 6 egg yolks can be given as a protein boost if required.

If whole eggs (shell and all) are being fed, the shell should be scrubbed thoroughly (with a brush and using detergent - Rinse THOROUGHLY) and then sterilised in boiling water to destroy bacteria such as Salmonella.

Blended whole eggs (shell included) should never be stored as salmonella may multiply in the blend - only fresh blended eggs should be fed to dogs.

[espinay2]

I feed whole raw eggs a couple of time a week usually. Sometimes with shell, and sometimes without. I will sometimes use eggs as an 'egg hunt' in their runs - placing a couple for them to find during the day as a bit of an amusement (I dont have to worry about them 'stealing' as I dont have chooks).

The only time egg whites have been shown to be a problem is when they have been fed, without yolks, as part of an experimental biotin deficient diet. The yolk actually contains much more biotin than is depleted by the avidin in the egg white, so as long as it is fed as the 'whole package' there is no problem - particularly as the diet will (should) also have other sources of biotin as well.