Skip to content
Free Range Parrots
  • Home
  • About This Site
  • Contact me
  • Search Icon
Are eggs good for your parrot?

Are eggs good for your parrot?

2021-02-14

Yes.

Are egg yolks good for your bird?

Especially!

I like when I can give short answers! Evidence for my answers mostly come from my previous articles, but I have some new references.

Let loose the hate mail.

A bird’s dream come true

Yolks vs whites

Let’s start with this one. I know some bird owners that are bold enough to ignore their vets and bird forums and feed their birds eggs. However, they typically protect their birds from yolks and only feed whites. So, let’s look at the similarities and differences.

[Egg] white contains almost no fat.

Egg white consists primarily of about 90% water into which about 10% proteins (including albumins, mucoproteins, and globulins) are dissolved

Egg white—Wikipedia

[Egg yolk] contains all of the egg’s fat and cholesterol, and nearly half of the protein.

Yolks hold more than 90% of the calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, thiamine, vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12, and pantothenic acid of the egg. In addition, yolks cover all of the fat-soluble vitamins: A, D, E, and K in the egg, as well as all of the essential fatty acids

Egg yolk—Wikipedia

Vitamin D

As I mentioned in Sources of Vitamin D, there just aren’t that many that birds actually want to eat. Egg yolks are one of them and egg whites have no Vitamin D. This is such a critical vitamin for birds that egg yolks need to be considered as a source.

Fat and cholesterol

I like to repeat this message that we and our birds have nothing to fear from fat and cholesterol. I’ve made a few converts but it never hurts to try to educate people on how to feed their birds. And not to fear “real” food.

I’ve written many articles on this subject so it’s easiest just to quote them. Note, too, that eggs have zero carbohydrates, which makes them an even better food choice.

  • Animal research into fat, carbohydrates, and disease
  • More on fat and carbohydrates
  • What causes Fatty Liver Disease?

Protein

Although I don’t hear it often, some complain about the protein content of eggs, which is about 37% of the nutritional content. Note, however, that both the egg yolk and white have the same protein content.

Egg whites contain about 56% of the protein in the egg

Egg white—Wikipedia

I guess a reasonable takeaway is that if no one is warning people about egg whites and their birds, the same should apply to egg yolks.

Conclusion

Don’t worry about giving your birds eggs. Ignore your vet who was likely educated in an era when far less was known about nutrition that cutting-edge research is proving today. No offense! You teach what you learn.

Egg whites are of virtually no value to a human or a bird, except perhaps foraging value. However, a yolk has foraging value and an unbelievable amount of nutrition that is exactly what a bird needs.

As an aside, I’ve nursed several birds back from the brink of death, who would not eat ANYTHING I gave them. But they would eat eggs! And that got them on the road to recovery.

Related Posts:

  • Be prepared should your parrot become ill
    Be prepared should your parrot become ill
  • Feed your parrots fat… but only when they are very ill
    Feed your parrots fat… but only when they are very ill
  • Remember to eat your herbs
    Remember to eat your herbs
  • So you’ve decided to get a parrot…
    So you’ve decided to get a parrot…
  • So you're thinking of getting a parrot…
    So you're thinking of getting a parrot…
  • This is your bird. This is your bird on SEED.
    This is your bird. This is your bird on SEED.

carbohydrates, diet, fat, health

Post navigation

PREVIOUS
What about bee pollen?
NEXT
Parrot diets around the world

Get Monthly Updates

Recent Posts

  • Birds and wildfire smoke
  • The Cockatiel Handbook, 40 years later
  • Avoid window collisions inside your home
  • Interior lighting for parrot cages
  • Cleaning cages with just water

Categories

  • aviary (6)
  • books (2)
  • carbohydrates (21)
  • cleaning (1)
  • diet (34)
  • enrichment (12)
  • fat (22)
  • food for thought (15)
  • general (6)
  • health (32)
  • lighting (6)
  • myths (5)
  • opinion (4)
  • personal (2)
  • photography (3)
  • products (11)
  • training (2)

Get Monthly Updates

About me


Me with Guiness the owl
 

I’ve been a bird owner since 1981, ranging from bird breeder to bird rescue.

Many bird owners turn to the internet to learn how to care for their birds and they find information not backed by research or bird experts. Even vets will make claims and provide no evidence to back them up.

I’m here to dispel the myths and inject some science into our discussions about birds.

 

My Other Blogs

  • Tech Reflect
  • Plucky Tree (personal)
© 2023   All Rights Reserved.