# Can you feed a horse eggs? Is there any benefit?



## paddi22 (17 November 2015)

We have a flock of chickens who produce way more eggs than we need. I thought I remembered a post on here about feeding an egg to horses in feed. Anyone know is this do-able and is there any benefit?


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## ihatework (17 November 2015)

I'd suggest selling the eggs and using the money to buy more appropriate horse feed!


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## ILuvCowparsely (17 November 2015)

paddi22 said:



			We have a flock of chickens who produce way more eggs than we need. I thought I remembered a post on here about feeding an egg to horses in feed. Anyone know is this do-able and is there any benefit?
		
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We had a livery fed with egg shells for her breathing as she was broken winded and it did help but not the eggs themselves


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## paddi22 (17 November 2015)

HGA-12 said:



			We had a livery fed with egg shells for her breathing as she was broken winded and it did help but not the eggs themselves
		
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Thats funny, was chatting to an old horseman guy and he said the same thing about eggshells for sind issues - wonder how it works?


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## mirabela123 (17 November 2015)

ihatework said:



			I'd suggest selling the eggs and using the money to buy more appropriate horse feed!
	
	
		
		
	


	




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how much for that eggs ??


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## ashlingm (17 November 2015)

I've heard of racehorses and hunters getting eggs in their feed. I *think* it was for shiny coats and general wellbeing ...but not totally sure! I presume it was all the omega fats in the eggs that made them so soft and shiny! 

Arkle used to get half a dozen eggs and some guinness everyday! Seemed to work for him 

Funnily enough I was considering feeding them too...just never got around to it.

Never heard about wind issues and egg shells....so no help there!


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## BlackRider (17 November 2015)

horses are naturally vegan, so wouldn't.


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## Goldenstar (17 November 2015)

It's a traditional thing ,eggs and Guinness where fed quite a lot when I was young however we have much much better options to feed horses now a days .
We also fed dried milk to horses in work.


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## criso (17 November 2015)

It was one of the things that older horse people used to swear by when I was a kid, Guinness too and a show producer who used goats milk.  We had a lot of chickens on the yard and sometimes the hens would lay an egg in your stable on top of the banks.  Inevitably it rolled down and if  it was cracked we would add it to the feed.

Not something I'd feed today.


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## Mike007 (17 November 2015)

A good source of essential amino acids .


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## OwnedbyJoe (18 November 2015)

Raw egg white reduces the availability of biotin. So I wouldn't.


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## The Fuzzy Furry (18 November 2015)

mirabela123 said:



			how much for that eggs ??
		
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Why, do you want to buy some? Let us know, we can give you prices 

As an aside, do you and Okepunya share the same ISP etc? :confused3:
You both post in an indentical way, with quite bizarre questions............


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## StarcatcherWilliam (18 November 2015)

Apache Warlord said:



			horses are naturally vegan, so wouldn't.
		
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Vegan!  I think you mean that they are herbivores....


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## EQUIDAE (18 November 2015)

Mike007 said:



			A good source of essential amino acids .
		
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What is 'essential' varies from species to species.


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## unicornystar (18 November 2015)

the risk (albeit very very low) of salmonella would put me off, so many cheaper and effective alternatives interesting about the wind and shells tho...


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## ester (18 November 2015)

StarcatcherWilliam said:



			Vegan!  I think you mean that they are herbivores....
		
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Lol


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## poiuytrewq (18 November 2015)

When I was younger on a livery yard everyone went through a stage of feeding raw eggs for protein. I did it because everyone else did and I didn't know any better! 
Certainly didn't notice any difference either good or bad. 
The egg shell and wind thing is really interesting, I'd love to hear more if anyone finds any info on this.


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## flirtygerty (18 November 2015)

My daughter gave my lad an egg, (laid in barn) he took it, broke it then spat it back at her, she was covered in it, served her right


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## HŪF Design (19 November 2015)

Provided your horse is being fed correctly with good quality food with a hight percentage of forage, and is being regularly turned out they will be getting everything they need and there should be no need to feed eggs.  Horses are essentially vegan and their digestive system is not designed to process animal protein.  There is some evidence to suggest that feeding eggs will interfere with the normal production of vitamins.


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## EQUIDAE (19 November 2015)

H&#362;F Design;13090585 said:
			
		


			Horses are essentially vegan...
		
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Herbivores


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## fatpiggy (19 November 2015)

I only have 3 chooks but I sell a dozen eggs to a couple of colleagues at work, a friend at orchestra has a half dozen every fortnight or so and I pop a half dozen to alternate neighbours when I have them - gives me a good excuse to have a goss and check that my immediate neighbour who is 85 is ok and not in need of any little jobs doing.  And my chooks get extra yummy mealworms out of the deal.  OP, don't forget that you can crack eggs and freeze them in Tupperware boxes for the months they aren't laying (mine show no sign of stopping for the winter yet!)


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## Lanky Loll (19 November 2015)

Goldenstar said:



			We also fed dried milk to horses in work.
		
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Plenty of people still doing that if they check the main ingredient in their supplements


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## MotherOfChickens (19 November 2015)

Lanky Loll said:



			Plenty of people still doing that if they check the main ingredient in their supplements 

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yes, still doesn't make it right  

I have lots of eggs, I wouldn't feed them to my horses. The cats and dog get the odd one. Apart from that, lots of baking and selling/giving to friends. Although if I have duck eggs, I much prefer them. I have frozen them but they looked kind of funky afterwards and it put me off.

Apart from some pullets coming into lay, all my purebreds have packed up for the winter.


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## Lanky Loll (19 November 2015)

MotherOfChickens said:



			yes, still doesn't make it right  

I have lots of eggs, I wouldn't feed them to my horses. The cats and dog get the odd one. Apart from that, lots of baking and selling/giving to friends. Although if I have duck eggs, I much prefer them. I have frozen them but they looked kind of funky afterwards and it put me off.

Apart from some pullets coming into lay, all my purebreds have packed up for the winter.
		
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Didn't say it was right - more an observation of how people are easily misled "my horse has put on condition since being fed xx" - yep because you've been feeding milk powder with a few benign extra's added to it.


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## Meowy Catkin (19 November 2015)

Apache Warlord said:



			horses are naturally vegan, so wouldn't.
		
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They are herbivores which isn't quite the same as vegan luckily, or they wouldn't be impressed with the leather tack I bought them.


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## Mike007 (21 November 2015)

EQUIDAE said:



			What is 'essential' varies from species to species.
		
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Indeed it does . I was talking about horses ,weren't you?


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## Cortez (21 November 2015)

The albumen in the egg white interferes with the absorption of some vitamins/minerals. Not good for horses if fed in any quantity; stick to non-animal proteins (this goes for grazing animal feed producers too).


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## Tnavas (24 November 2015)

A friend of mine fed them daily along with a pint of milk - she hunted, had foals and lived for over 20 years. Rarely ever saw the vet had a shiny coat and plenty of energy .


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## LCH611 (24 November 2015)

Shame you aren't nearer to me as I can hardly persuade anyone to have my duck eggs and my Indian Runners seem to lay every single day and don't break for moulting etc. The fox took most of useful layers that kept going all winter and I have mostly been left with pekins that are adorable but not overly committed to the idea of producing eggs unless they think they will be allowed to hatch them. Not sure any of my horses would eat eggs as they carefully eat around any that are laid in their hay bars, but ferrets, yard cats and pigs are useful for disposing of any eggs of an uncertain age!


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## fatpiggy (24 November 2015)

One day I spotted the ducks at the farm where I kept my horse, carefully sifting through a pile of horse poo with their bills and reducing it to a very large pile of crumbs - put me off duck eggs for good!

My hybrid chooks are still putting out an egg each ever day, much to my amazement - I would have though they would have stopped by now.  They were POL in May, so does anyone know when they might shut up shop?


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## *hic* (24 November 2015)

I hate to tell you this fatpiggy, but my chooks happily sift through horse poo, as well as catching and eating mice and frogs. As to when yours will stop laying - what's the light situation like? They'll stop over the shortest days but if you've got artificial lighting on they may well continue laying right through although they are unlikely to keep up an egg a day each. My two Pekins are still going strong, someone needs to tell the Hamburghs what they are supposed to be here for (and it's not just because they are gorgeous to look at!).


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## fatpiggy (24 November 2015)

jemima*askin said:



			I hate to tell you this fatpiggy, but my chooks happily sift through horse poo, as well as catching and eating mice and frogs. As to when yours will stop laying - what's the light situation like? They'll stop over the shortest days but if you've got artificial lighting on they may well continue laying right through although they are unlikely to keep up an egg a day each. My two Pekins are still going strong, someone needs to tell the Hamburghs what they are supposed to be here for (and it's not just because they are gorgeous to look at!).
		
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They will be in competition with the cat for frogs (at least she doesn't eat them I suppose, but lets them loose in the front room).  Chooks are just in the garden in their pen. Its dark when I get up to feed them and dark when I get home in the evenings and up here in North Cheshire, daylight hours are shorter than down south.  This morning, bless them, there were already 3 nice warm eggs at 7am.  Other times, one is still thinking about it at lunchtime.  I honestly thought they'd slow down and stop after the clocks changed, but apart from someone very occasionally missing a day, they are all in full production. Perhaps I should stop squeezing them?


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## Tnavas (24 November 2015)

fatpiggy said:



			My hybrid chooks are still putting out an egg each ever day, much to my amazement - I would have though they would have stopped by now.  They were POL in May, so does anyone know when they might shut up shop?
		
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My Rhode Island Reds had only about 6 weeks off over the middle of winter and then back into full production again. They were ex production hens, not battery but professional layers, I've had them a year and this year their eggs must be at least a size 8. 

I have very few slugs or snails now


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## Goldenstar (24 November 2015)

Lanky Loll said:



			Plenty of people still doing that if they check the main ingredient in their supplements 

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Not in anything like the quantities they did then it was just mad looking back .


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## Goldenstar (24 November 2015)

Faracat said:



			They are herbivores which isn't quite the same as vegan luckily, or they wouldn't be impressed with the leather tack I bought them.  

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Love it .


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