Zoo database

Little egret

Egretta garzetta

Natural diet Little egret

Little egrets are carnivorous birds that primarily consume fish. This is supplemented with a variety of other animals such as: amphibians, small vertebrates, crustaceans, molluscs and insects.

Fish
Fish
Insects
Insects
Vertebrates
Vertebrates

Feeding advice Little egret

Feed quantity per day

15-20%

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 0.45 kg and eats 15% of its body weight, it will get
 
0.45 x 0.15 = 0.07 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

20% Meat and whole prey
50% Fish products
30% Concentrates

Proportions (fresh product)

0.2 x 0.07 kg = 14 g meat and whole prey
0.5 x 0.07 kg = 34 g fish products
0.3 x 0.07 kg = 20 g concentrates

Diet Suggestions

Recommended

Variety of fish

Whole fish

Whole prey (mice or chicks)

In moderation

Variety of insects

Not recommended

Bread

Common diseases

An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:

  • Secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism
  • Hypervitaminosis E

Additional advice

  • Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least two feeding moments per day.
  • Small fish can be offered whole, but larger fish should be cut into smaller pieces.
  • Avoid feeding bread as the high starch content may cause gastro-intestinal disturbances.
  • Stimulate foraging behaviour by using feeding puzzles and scatter feeding (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).