Can Cockatiels Eat Eggs? How About Raw Eggs? 🥚

Published by Joseph Calabrese on March 16, 2023March 16, 2023

“Can cockatiels eat eggs?”

“Are they safe for birds?”

Yes! Your cockatiels can eat eggs, but like all treats, they should only be fed in moderation. But what about raw eggs? What about eggshells? Are they all safe as well? And most importantly, how often should you provide eggs to your cockatiels?

Answers to all those questions coming up now…

Are Raw Eggs Safe For Cockatiels?

Upon my research, I found two contradictory answers to this question…

The first answer came from Lafeber, a well-known bird care website run by vets, avian specialists, and experts.

They said the following quote:

As far as for a pet, eggs can be fed as an occasional treat as long as the eggs are fully cooked.
– Brenda from Lafeber

However, PetKeen has contradicted Lafeber by saying that you can offer raw eggs to parrots.

PetKeen continued by saying that raw eggs give your bird more nutrients than boiled eggs. According to AustralianEggs.Org, both cooked and raw eggs offer the same nutritional benefits, except raw eggs have a slight risk of salmonella poisoning.

They also say raw eggs are less effective for nutrient absorption than cooked eggs.

It seems like there is a bit of information variety out here…

Based on my finding, I’d say it’s best to AVOID feeding raw eggs to your cockatiel.

Instead, you should feed them hard-boiled eggs.

Can Cockatiels Eat Egg Shells?

Egg shells are a good source of calcium and can be safely fed to your cockatiels in moderation.

Because of this, there is no need to peel a boiled egg before serving it to your cockatiel, you can just give them the shell too! Not only does it provide additional calcium, but it adds a nice crunchy texture to their egg serving.

It also encourages them to break the shell to reach the egg, which makes it more challenging for them.

Birds benefit from a good challenge, both physically and mentally.

Another way to use egg shells is to add them to your cockatiel’s regular vegetable mix for additional calcium if needed.

So yes, egg shells are perfectly safe for cockatiels and can be provided in a variety of interesting ways.

Fun fact: Many wild birds and parrots will eat a rival bird’s eggs if found unprotected. They’ll gladly poke a hole through the eggshell and start devouring the undeveloped embryo. Such is the cruel and beautiful way of nature!

Can Cockatiels Eat Egg Yolks?

Just like egg whites, your cockatiel can eat egg yolks in moderation.

In fact, there are more beneficial nutrients contained in egg yolks compared to egg whites. This may sound good at first, but while there are more nutrients in egg yolks, they also contain more calories, saturated fats, and cholesterol.

All of which should not be fed to cockatiels in high amounts.

Due to this, I suggest feeding much smaller amounts of egg yolk compared to egg whites to your tiel’.

Can cockatiels eat egg yolks — Image source: Pixabay

Are Scrambled Eggs Safe For Cockatiels?

Eggs, in all of their forms, are 100% safe for cockatiels to eat every now and then.

However, making scrambled eggs often involves using cooking oils, which aren’t good for birds to consume.

Compared to boiled eggs, scrambled eggs contain:

More healthy fats

Less protein

More calories

Less overall nutritional value

So, should you feed scrambled eggs to your cockatiel?

I suggest avoiding scrambled eggs and instead feeding boiled eggs due to their higher nutritional content, lower calories, and safer cooking method.

can cockatiels eat scrambled eggs — Image source: PIxabay

Can Cockatiels Eat Egg Noodles?

Egg noodles are safe to feed cockatiels in limited amounts.

The two main ingredients in egg noodles are, well, egg, and also wheat flour, an ingredient used to make other types of pasta. As long as they weren’t cooked in excessive cooking oils and have no added ingredients, you can share some egg noodles with your cockatiels.

Clip a little bit to the cage.

Or you could just let them steal it off your plate like the little thieves that they are!

Remember, moderation is key when feeding your birds any egg-based foods.

Can Cockatiels Eat Egg Noodles? — Image credit: Pixabay

Nutritional Value Of Eggs For Birds

What exactly does your cockatiel get from eating eggs?

How do they benefit?

After researching multiple sources on egg nutrition, I’ve come up with a list of the most beneficial nutrients found in eggs. The list below details the amount of specific nutrients found in a regular egg that weighs about 50 grams.

50 grams of a hard-boiled egg, including the whites and yolk, with no added ingredients, contain:

Calories = 78
Protein = 6.8 grams
Fat = 5.3 grams
Calcium = 25 milligrams
Phosphorus = 86 milligrams
Iron = 0.59 milligrams
Cholesterol = 186 milligrams
Vitamin D = 44 international units
Vitamin A = 260 international units

Info source: MedicalNewsToday.com

Vitamin D is not found naturally in many foods, so feeding eggs in moderation is a great way to provide it to your cockatiel. In case you’re not an expert in nutrition, this nutritional content in an egg is beneficial for birds, but only in moderation.

Too much protein, calories, cholesterol and fat is not good for parrots.

But they’ll certainly benefit from the level of calcium, vitamin D, vitamin A, and phosphorus found in small amounts of eggs.

How Often Is “In Moderation” For Feeding Eggs To Parrots?

Throughout this post, you’ve constantly heard me say to only feed eggs in “moderation”…

But what exactly does that mean?

How often is “in moderation” when it comes to feeding eggs to your cockatiel?

Well, it’s stated across multiple credible sources, such as Lafeber, PetKeen, and a vet’s answer on PetCoach, that one egg serving per week is safe and beneficial for cockatiels.

Lafeber continues to say that it’s safe for breeding birds to eat a small serving of eggs daily.

But this is because they need extra nutrition for egg-laying, egg production, and chick feeding.

If your cockatiel is NOT breeding, once a week is the limit for feeding eggs.

It might be safe for larger parrots to eat two eggs a week, but since cockatiels are small birds, a single egg per week will serve them well.

Can cockatiels eat egg? — Cockatiel eating an egg

Short Summary

You can feed eggs to your cockatiel as long as it’s limited to one serving per week.

Eggs are a natural source of vitamin A, vitamin D, calcium, and protein, all of which are beneficial to cockatiels in small amounts. The best way to prepare eggs is to hard boil them, and you can even leave the eggshell intact as it’s also safe to eat.

However, I believe you should avoid serving raw eggs to your cockatiel as there’s a small risk of salmonella poisoning.

As long as you feed only 1 serving of eggs per week, your cockatiel will be safe and healthy.

Thank you for reading.

Read The Full Guide To Feeding Cockatiels A Nutritionally Balanced Diet

Can Cockatiels Eat Eggs? How About Raw Eggs? 🥚

Are Raw Eggs Safe For Cockatiels?