Raw egg or cooked egg – How the chicken denies vitamins

Original article by S. Veigel 08/20/2015

Reviewed for relevancy 06/02/2020

The egg is a great source of protein, vitamins and iron. The egg shell is a good source of calcium. And people are going AL natural putting raw eggs, shell and all, into the dog food bowl in an attempt to give their dogs the best possible quality nutrition. Other people are grinding the egg shell first.

I’m all for providing the best nutrition. But before you throw that raw egg in, may I suggest a couple things to consider? Because, in a sincere attempt to give your dog the benefit you might actually be denying it in this case.

I: How the chicken denies vitamins

There’s cooking and then there’s over cooking. Some cooking makes food healthier and overcooking destroys vitamins and enzymes. In the case of the chicken egg, not lightly cooking it is the problem.

Apparently the chicken has no interest in feeding their eggs to mammals. There are 2 components, “Avidin” and “Conalbumin”, in the egg that deny mammals nutritional benefit. Avidin bonds with Biotin. Biotin is a “B” vitamin essential to cell growth. By bonding with Biotin Avidin makes it unavailable to mammals. Conalbumin then bonds with Iron and makes that also unavailable (see also “Foods your dog should not eat”). Last of all, raw egg is known to cause fur and skin problems.

When you cook an egg you actually destroy Avidin and Conalbumin making Biotin and Iron nutritionally available. You also kill any E.coli or Salmonella. You don’t have to overcook it. Just cook it lightly over a low-medium heat (like sunny-side-up). Boiled egg? Fantastic!

II: Try this before you throw that egg shell in the bowl

I’m not going to suggest you can’t feed your dog egg shells. If you feel your dog needs more calcium the egg shell can provide calcium. But, personally, if you’re going to do this, I’d prefer you chop it up in a coffee grinder first and mix it in their food. Some people say that works better in a coffee grinder if you cook the egg to dry out the membrane attached to the shell. But if you’re going to insist that dogs eat the shell just fine, as is, try something for me. For your dog. Just a little “see for yourself” experiment.

The next time you cook an egg for breakfast grab the egg shell in your hand and crush it up. Feel how sharp those egg shell pieces are and imagine your clenching fist is your dogs’ esophagus trying to push that shell into the stomach. Then notice how some of the sharp pieces of egg shell stick to your hand.

Dogs’ don’t have the same gag-response that people do but if you tried to do this you’d be drinking a lot of water to wash it down. The dog usually doesn’t eat a little then drink a little. It usually eats all then licks up water. Pieces of egg shell may not all wash down at first. It is possible for small pieces to remain in the esophagus in line with air going into the lungs when they’re panting.

Some dogs seem to have no problem with it. Other dogs will. Personally, I’d grind it or use a different source for food quality calcium. The egg shell is fully digestible, but it has to get into the stomach first.