Eggs are a terrific addition to your dog's diet as a supplement to her raw bowl or topper for kibble. Eggs provide vitamins, minerals, fats, and protein. This article will discuss what egg labels mean and which eggs benefit our dogs most.

Here are some essential nutrients found in eggs:

Protein: Eggs are considered a complete protein source for dogs because they contain all of the essential amino acids required by the body to grow, repair, and maintain tissues.

Fat: Eggs contain both saturated and unsaturated fats. The yolk of the egg is where most of the fat is found, including healthy fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. The fats in eggs are essential for energy, nutrient absorption, and hormone production and the aid the development of healthy skin and hair coat. 

Vitamins: Eggs are rich in several vitamins, including:

Vitamin B12 is essential for producing red blood cells and nerve function.

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin): Important for energy metabolism and maintaining healthy skin.

Vitamin A: Supports vision, immune function, and skin health.

Vitamin D: Necessary for calcium absorption and bone health.

Vitamin E: An antioxidant that helps protect cells from damage.

Minerals: Eggs provide various minerals that are important for overall health, including:

Iron: Vital for oxygen transport and preventing anemia.

Zinc: Essential for immune function, wound healing, and metabolism.

Selenium: Acts as an antioxidant and supports thyroid function.

Phosphorus: Important for bone health, energy metabolism, and cell function.

Choline: Eggs are an excellent source of choline, essential for brain health, nerve function, and cell membrane structure.

It's worth noting that the nutrient composition of eggs can vary depending on factors such as the hen's diet and farming practices. Additionally, the distribution of nutrients differs between the egg white and the yolk, with the yolk generally containing more fat and micronutrients.

In the United States, the labeling categories for eggs are regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) through its Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The USDA has established specific guidelines for egg labeling to inform consumers about the production methods used for the eggs. Here are the common labeling categories for eggs in the US:

Conventional Eggs: Conventional eggs are produced by hens typically housed in cages. These eggs come from hens that are allowed minimal movement and no outdoor access. The minimum space requirement for a laying hen in a conventional facility is 67 square inches of floor space per hen.

Cage-Free Eggs: Eggs produced by hens that are not confined to cages, allowing them some level of movement within a barn or indoor facility. While the specific living conditions and management practices can vary, they generally include elevated perches, nest boxes, and dust bathing and scratching areas.  The minimum floor space per hen in a cage-free facility is 1.5-1.8 square feet (216-260 square inches). 

Free-Range Eggs: Free-range designation has no set definition and is often confused or used interchangeably with pasture-raised. Free-range hens have outdoor and indoor housing access and can roam freely on pasture or range areas, allowing them to forage and exhibit natural behaviors. However, the outdoor access and foraging opportunities are more restrictive than with pasture-raised hens.

Pasture-raised: Eggs from hens raised on pasture-based systems that aim to provide access to outdoor pasture areas where they can freely roam, forage, and exhibit natural behaviors, like scratching the ground, pecking at insects and plants, and dust bathing. Pasture-raised hens can forage for a significant portion of their diet. In addition to commercial feed, they can consume grass, insects, seeds, and other natural food sources they find outdoors, contributing to their eggs' nutritional composition.

Certified Organic: Certified organic eggs come from hens raised according to specific organic farming standards. Hens must be fed an organic diet made from crops grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Organic feed cannot contain any antibiotics or animal byproducts. Hens have outdoor access, allowing them to engage in natural behaviors and forage. 

Pasture-raised eggs have been shown to have significantly higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins A, D, and E. When hens are treated humanely and allowed to forage for most of their nutrients, their eggs have been shown to contain double the Omega-3 fatty acids, three times more vitamin D, four times more vitamin E, and seven times more beta-carotene than cage-reared eggs.

Another Difference Between Commercial Eggs and Farm-Fresh Eggs 

Commercial eggs must be sanitized before distribution. Freshly laid eggs have a protective coating that prevents them from being porous, keeping the water and oxygen in the egg and harmful bacteria out. In the US, as soon as eggs are laid in commercial egg production facilities, they are placed into a machine that chemically washes them, removing that protective layer. The eggs are then susceptible to infiltration of harmful bacteria, requiring refrigeration. 

So why do the commercial operations sanitize the eggs? In the US, there is a concern with Salmonella contamination. In a small fraction, one in every 20,000 chicken eggs, a small amount of salmonella is released into the sac, meaning there is a 0.005% chance of Salmonella being in eggs. Eggs consumed by humans are generally cooked, making this slight chance of contamination even less significant as the cooking process will destroy the bacteria. Dogs are often fed raw eggs, but because their bodies are designed to process raw foods, they are not at risk of getting sick from Salmonella. 

While farm-fresh eggs are the best overall option, certified organic eggs are the best commercial option. Commercially available certified organic eggs are comparable to farm-fresh eggs in most aspects. 

A local farmer or farmers market is the best place to buy pasture-raised eggs. Although most local, small farms will not be certified as organic, you can talk to the farmers about their practices and decide if their eggs meet your expectations. The closer you get to the egg-laying bird, the better! 

Eggs are a great protein source for your dog and can be added as often as three times a week for small dogs, five times a week for medium dogs, or seven times a week for large dogs.  Raw, scrambled, soft-boiled, or hard-boiled eggs are all acceptable serving methods. 

With eggs being an excellent protein source, they are a great addition to your dog’s bowl. They can be added as a topper, or if you have a small dog and need to be more concerned about calories, they can be factored into the muscle meat portion of your dog’s meal. You can also use the shell as an additional calcium source when feeding farm-fresh eggs. If your dog does not like the shell, try removing the inner membrane to supply collagen, glucosamine, and chondroitin to her meal.

Can Raw Eggs Cause A Biotin Deficiency In Dogs?

Biotin, one of the B vitamins, is essential for your dog’s cellular growth, fatty acid metabolism, and healthy skin and coat. Some raw feeders fear feeding raw egg whites will cause a biotin deficiency due to the presence of avidin. 

Avidin is a protein in raw egg whites with a strong binding affinity to biotin (B7).  The specific structure of avidin allows it to bind tightly to biotin, forming a complex that prevents biotin from being absorbed and utilized by your dog’s body. 

If you are feeding a nutritionally balanced raw diet that contains muscle meat, liver, other secreting organs, and fish, the chance of avidin from egg whites causing a biotin deficiency is minimal. 

Although the potential risk of avidin can be minimized by cooking the eggs, you also remove many other nutrients from the eggs.  

Pasture-raised eggs are significantly more nutritious than commercial eggs found at the local grocery.

Salmonella is often a concern among the public, but it is much less prevalent than public perception.

The closer you are to the egg-laying hen, the healthier the eggs will be for your dog.

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, prospective clinical trial evaluating water-soluble chicken eggshell membrane for improvement in joint health in adults with knee osteoarthritis 

Role of avidin and other biotin-binding proteins in the deposition and distribution of biotin in chicken eggs. Discovery of a new biotin-binding protein 

Hen's egg as a source of valuable biologically active substances 

Research shows eggs from pastured chickens may be more nutritious 

Comparison of fatty acid, cholesterol, and vitamin A and E composition in eggs from hens housed in conventional cage and range production facilities  

<a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/eggs">Eggs</a> are a terrific addition to your dog's diet as a supplement to her raw bowl or topper for <a href="https://feedreal.com/glossary/kibble">kibble</a>. Eggs provide vitamins, minerals, fats, and protein. This article will discuss what egg labels mean and which eggs benefit our dogs most.

Benefits of Pasture-Raised Eggs

Feed Real Institute

Services

Summit

We help with