When we think of eggs, while we think of them on the breakfast table, we also can’t shake the association with birds.
When it comes to our pet parrots, this makes some of us a bit squeamish about the idea of feeding them eggs—but can conures eat eggs?
Yes, conures can eat eggs. They should be fed in strict moderation but eating small amounts of egg can be very good for your conure’s health. They are a great source of many important vitamins and minerals. Just don’t overfeed them on eggs.
You may be a bit surprised at the answer, then.
I know I certainly was when I first learned that eggs are a good part of a conure’s diet.
As with anything, though, it’s just vital to be aware of how much they are eating, as well as their diet as a whole.
Balance and variety are key.
Let’s find out more.
Are eggs good for conures?
Yes, eggs are in fact good for conures in a few different ways.
For one thing, your conure will doubtless enjoy eating eggs, and this will make eating them a great treat.
The value of a wide variety of tasty treats in your conure’s diet cannot be understated.
It will have a big impact on their mood, and this will have knock-on effects on their physical health.
Beyond that, there are many nutritional benefits to speak of with eggs.
Most importantly, they are a great way to get some bonus protein into your conure’s diet.
As you may know, eggs are often a central part of human strength training because of their protein content.
This protein, in the right amounts, is really good for the strength of your conure’s muscles and bones.
But the benefits don’t stop there.
Eggs are also a great source of some important vitamins, such as vitamin A and vitamin D.
Vitamin A is really important for all parrot species, aiding in the health of the eyes, good hearing, and growth of bones.
Vitamin D is essential for the correct functioning of the immune system, as well as the health of the heart.
Deficiencies in both of these vitamins are common in conures and parrots generally, so feeding them eggs is a good way to prevent this problem.
Eggs are also a great source of calcium, which is also of central importance to a parrot’s diet.
This is important for regulating the conure’s heartbeat, as well as keeping their bones, muscles, claws and beaks healthy at the same time.
It’s also really important for breeding females and their chicks, so be sure to give eggs to any females you intend to mate.
Now, with all this said, eggs are looking pretty good—but there are, as always, some important caveats.
Are eggs bad for conures?
Eggs are not inherently bad for conures.
They’re not toxic or poisonous, and eating egg won’t do your conure any immediate harm.
That said, there are still some important points to keep in mind when you are incorporating egg into your conure’s diet.
Broadly speaking, as I’ve touched on, you just need to be very careful about how much they eat.
Moderation is the name of the game.
Eggs are quite high in saturated fats as well as cholesterol.
This can lead to major issues with excessive weight gain if they eat too much.
Ideally, you should only give your conures organic, free-range egg.
So, while egg is not bad for your conure, but is in fact highly beneficial in many ways, it will only be so if you feed it in the correct amounts.
How much, then, is that exactly?
How much egg can conures eat?
At most, an egg once a week is plenty for your conure.
You should see it as an occasional treat, and not something they eat every day or all that regularly at all.
If you swap out the egg with other treats during the rest of the week, like fruits and vegetables, then you’re ensuring two things.
Firstly, this makes sure you can get the fullest range of nutritional benefits into your conure’s diet.
This is always going to be better for its health.
But at the same time it prevents your conure from getting bored of the same old treats.
This will keep it happy and prevent it from getting bored.
So, no more than one egg per week.
This is plenty, and will provide all the benefits they need.
But there are multiple component parts to an egg—which are best for your conure?
Can conures eat egg yolks?
Yes, conures can eat egg yolks, and this is doubtless the most nutritious part.
Whether raw or cooked, the yolk provides many benefits including the lion’s share of the egg’s overall protein, as well as an important nutrient called choline.
This aids the function of the brain and the overall nervous system.
Because egg yolks are so nutritionally dense, you need to be most careful about them eating this part of the egg.
Too much will become an issue very quickly, leading to the weight gain we discussed earlier due to the saturated fats.
What about the whites?
Can conures eat egg whites?
Yes, conures can eat egg whites.
The whites certainly don’t boast the same nutritional profile as the yolk, but when taken as a whole they certainly are a beneficial part of the egg.
They still contain a good amount of protein and calcium which we talked about the benefits of.
It’s good for your conure’s brain and nervous system too.
Just again, moderation—they don’t need much egg white to get the full benefit from it.
What about the eggshells?
Can conures eat eggshells?
You may be surprised to learn that conures and parrots generally can in fact eat eggshells.
They’re, unsurprisingly, not hugely nutritious, but there is some protein in there.
Your conure may be surprisingly keen on the egg shells, so they’re certainly worth giving whole to your conure.
In my view, it’s best to just give them the whole egg, and let them eat as much of it as they want.
Now, in all this, we haven’t addressed a central question—should the eggs be raw or cooked?
Can conures eat raw eggs?
Conures certainly can eat raw eggs, and this is probably the way they will enjoy the egg most.
It will be most natural to them this way, and the egg white or the yolk won’t have been processed in any way that makes it less than palatable to the conure.
Parrots in the wild do steal eggs from time to time, so they will not be unused to the idea.
If you simply give them a whole, raw egg, then they should be able to break it open with their beak and do it with it as they wish.
Raw eggs are uniquely high in protein, and this is something that certainly works in favor of the argument for raw eggs.
Raw eggs are a highly nutritious snack for your conure.
Still, though, everything we have said about moderation still applies.
Raw eggs still pose the same problems of saturated fat and cholesterol.
Can conures eat cooked eggs?
So, can they eat cooked eggs as well?
The answer is still yes, they can also eat cooked eggs.
I would advise boiling the eggs.
Any other kind of cooking is going to involve oil or other added ingredients which will negate some of the health benefits of the egg.
A hard- or soft-boiled egg makes a great treat for your conures.
Whether a cooked or raw egg is better is really up for debate.
In my view, feeding them raw eggs is better if only because it is a better imitation of their natural diet in the wild.
That, obviously, would not include cooked eggs, or cooked anything.
But, again, this is not to say there is no benefit to feeding them cooked eggs.
Cooked eggs are tasty and healthy and maintain the same nutritional benefits as raw eggs, if slightly reduced in protein concentration.
So, it’s up to your discretion, really.
Eggs are actually a really great thing to introduce into your conure’s diet, then.
They are nutritional in many ways which your conure may struggle to get out of the rest of its diet. But they still need only be fed in careful moderation.
Too much of any one thing, but especially something as protein-rich as eggs, can be very bad for your conure.
So, just be careful with how much they eat.