Would raw egg be ok to help gain a healthy weight

[AChickenBoi]

Ive never tried is myself, but from what I hear, giving chickens raw eggs will often cause them to start breaking open eggs he finds (as said by @JustAChickenLoverOverHere, p.s. welcome to BYC), which can be a hard habit to break. I hear milk can help a chicken fill out.

My problem isn’t really him getting an egg eating habit. He almost never, and I mean never, finds an egg laying about since almost all my girls are very picky where they lay their eggs, and he doesn’t sleep in the coop or hang out in there during the day. I’m honestly sure that he doesn’t even know what an egg is, as he sometimes gets scared of me showing them to him and he’ll run away a few feet lol. Im also unsure of milk because many people say that chickens can’t digest it easily. I can try a little bit, but I will immediately cut it out if it causes him to get bad side effects

 

[WallacetheKhakiCampbell]

My problem isn’t really him getting an egg eating habit. He almost never, and I mean never, finds an egg laying about since almost all my girls are very picky where they lay their eggs, and he doesn’t sleep in the coop or hang out in there during the day. I’m honestly sure that he doesn’t even know what an egg is, as he sometimes gets scared of me showing them to him and he’ll run away a few feet lol. Im also unsure of milk because many people say that chickens can’t digest it easily. I can try a little bit, but I will immediately cut it out if it causes him to get bad side effects

I know natural unprocessed milk works great, but not a lot of people have a cow to get that from. But i'm not sure if processed, homogenized, and pasteurized milk would work the same.

 

[NatJ]

What I’m asking is if he can have raw egg whites along with the yolk? I’m not concerned with egg eating since he never happens across eggs the girls lay, so my only concern is actual health risks. I know people can catch salmonella if they eat undercooked or raw eggs, but nobody says anything about birds or fowl getting it. I’m fine with cooking a couple eggs or boiling a batch for him, but it can be time consuming sometimes. So, are raw egg whites ok, or should I just get into the habit of cooking them?

Something called avidin in raw egg whites binds to biotin (one of the B vitamins), so people or dogs can get a biotin deficiency if they eat too many raw egg whites for too long of a time.

Since biotin is also needed by chickens, I would be concerned about causing a deficiency in the rooster too. I would probably just cook the egg whites for him. You might be able to save time by cooking enough eggs for several days or a week at once, then storing them in the fridge until he needs them. And if he doesn't eat them as fast as you expected, any extra cooked eggs could be eaten by you or fed to your other chickens before they have time to actually go bad.

(I had to use google to check some details, especially the terms avidin and biotin, because I originally remembered it as "something in raw egg whites can cause some sort of deficiency in some kind of animal," which is vague enough to be almost useless.)

 

[NatJ]

When I asked to see what would be a good food to help my VERY underweight roo put on some weight

Chick starter is often a good choice.

Many adult chickens seem to like it better than their normal food, and making it wet can make it even more appetizing to them.

And of course it's easy for a chicken to digest, and has all the right nutrients for baby chicks who need to gain weight and grow bigger.

 

[kerbotx]

Would something like Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding for Baby Birds be helpful in this situation? I've never used it, but it's been sitting in my Chicken Wishlist on Amazon for months now...

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0002DG...colid=2WEBLS4TL0J19&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

 

[chickengr]

When I asked to see what would be a good food to help my VERY underweight roo put on some weight (the vet’s measurements said that he was only 50-60 ounces in weight, and since he’s gotten better from what was ailing him, I’m working on putting some weight on him), someone said that raw egg yolk would be ok through a syringe since he wouldn’t eat by himself.

Blue, the silkie roo in question, will happily try new things if he finds them tasty, but he gets burnt out on the same food for a while. What I’m asking is if he can have raw egg whites along with the yolk? I’m not concerned with egg eating since he never happens across eggs the girls lay, so my only concern is actual health risks. I know people can catch salmonella if they eat undercooked or raw eggs, but nobody says anything about birds or fowl getting it. I’m fine with cooking a couple eggs or boiling a batch for him, but it can be time consuming sometimes. So, are raw egg whites ok, or should I just get into the habit of cooking them?

I did it so many times with great success. just make sure your layers are healthy.

you can syringe both, yolk and egg white. although yolk seems to be a better choice. little white will not harm. egg white might cause diarrhea.

 

[AChickenBoi]

I give my birds that need more protein raw eggs. I don't have problems with egg eaters unless they're missing something like calcium or protein.

Oh! That’s another thing with calcium! I realize that since he has a crooked beak, he has a hard time eating anything that is just lying around. For calcium, should I use the eggshells of eggs I crack open? Would simply leaving them on the counter dry them up

Would something like Kaytee Exact Hand Feeding for Baby Birds be helpful in this situation? I've never used it, but it's been sitting in my Chicken Wishlist on Amazon for months now...

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0002DG...colid=2WEBLS4TL0J19&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

View attachment 2513834

Oh! We have that exact baby bird feed, picture and all! It was very helpful when he was sick and needed some nutrients to get him through his infection, but I think he got burnt out on the stuff and hardly enjoys it anymore. I would definitely recommend it !

 

[AChickenBoi]

Chick starter is often a good choice.

Many adult chickens seem to like it better than their normal food, and making it wet can make it even more appetizing to them.

And of course it's easy for a chicken to digest, and has all the right nutrients for baby chicks who need to gain weight and grow bigger.

I’ll see if I can find it at the closest Tractor Supply, I would definitely believe Blue would like it

 

[AChickenBoi]

Something called avidin in raw egg whites binds to biotin (one of the B vitamins), so people or dogs can get a biotin deficiency if they eat too many raw egg whites for too long of a time.

Since biotin is also needed by chickens, I would be concerned about causing a deficiency in the rooster too. I would probably just cook the egg whites for him. You might be able to save time by cooking enough eggs for several days or a week at once, then storing them in the fridge until he needs them. And if he doesn't eat them as fast as you expected, any extra cooked eggs could be eaten by you or fed to your other chickens before they have time to actually go bad.

(I had to use google to check some details, especially the terms avidin and biotin, because I originally remembered it as "something in raw egg whites can cause some sort of deficiency in some kind of animal," which is vague enough to be almost useless.)

Yeah, I’ve since decided to just boil or scramble them. He likes boiled eggs hand fed better than syringe feeding anyway.

I had a feeling there would be something as a drawback to feeding raw eggs other than starting a bad habit, since eating raw and undercooked eggs in general would no doubt cause a human to get sick.

 

[TheCrochetChick]

I would not feed him raw eggs, b/c he might bgain an appitite for raw eggs and start breaking them and eating them-a bad habit too break.... I would scramble them , that always worked for me!
Best wishes for your roo!!!