Zoo database

Little egret

Egretta garzetta

Natural diet Little egret

Fish
Insects
Vertebrates

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.

Feeding advice Little egret

Feed quantity per day

15-20% of body weight

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 = 0.0675 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

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

Proportions (fresh product)

0.2 x 0.0675 kg = 13.5 g meat products and whole prey
0.5 x 0.0675 kg = 33.8 g fish products
0.3 x 0.0675 kg = 20.3 g concentrates

Diet suggestions

In moderation

Variety of insects

Not recommended

Bread

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).

Common diseases

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

Secondary nutritional hyperparathyroidism
Hypervitaminosis E

Feed quantity per day

Sample percentage calculation

Feed composition

Proportions (fresh product)

Wisbroek Ibis - Flamingo Floating

Insect Patee Premium - Min. 50% insects

Crickets

Mealworms

Shrimps IQF - 5 kg box

Jan van Zeumeren

Logistics