All poultry (chicken, duck, goose, turkey, chicken liver/gizzards) is forbidden because these are domesticated, ground-feeding birds that do not fly, whereas pigeon and quail are allowed; all eggs including quail and pigeon eggs are forbidden.

Original statement

الوز والبط دواجن والداجن ده ... يقعد ياكل من الارض البيضه دي الفرخه والبطه والوزه ما يتاكلوش دي طيور زينه

verbatim according to source. Translation by the project; the Arabic wording is authoritative.

Translation

All poultry (chicken, duck, goose, turkey, chicken liver/gizzards) is forbidden because these are domesticated, ground-feeding birds that do not fly, whereas pigeon and quail are allowed; all eggs including quail and pigeon eggs are forbidden.

Origin

Source status

Video transcript (own words)

Attribution

Elawady (machine transcript)

Video

Dr Diaa Al Awady د ضياء العوضي is live! لايف منتظر (Open source)

Published

8 February 2026

Timestamp

not available (transcript has no timings)

Attribution uncertainty

Archive transcript (YouTube CC or AI-generated); wording may contain transcription errors; no timestamps available.

Claimed mechanism

Domesticated birds that feed from the ground/their own waste and do not fly are unsuitable; pigeons eat only grains.

Claimed health effect

Same harms as chicken.

Population concerned

general population (not specified)

Geographic restriction by Elawady

none found

Diverging source versions

Scientific assessment

Mostly false – Essential parts of the statement are not supported by the evidence or are strongly exaggerated.

Certainty of evidence: very low – Any assessment is very uncertain.

1. What was claimed?

Ground-feeding domestic poultry (chicken, duck, goose, turkey) and their livers/gizzards are forbidden; flying birds such as pigeon (and initially quail) are allowed; all eggs are forbidden.

2. What is demonstrably correct?

Feeding and husbandry can influence meat composition and contaminant exposure (e.g., outdoor/ground-feeding hens take up soil pollutants, A-EGG-05). Elawady himself acknowledged that farmed quail are also intensively fed, which undermines the original quail exception.

3. What is wrong or exaggerated?

Domestic pigeons are also domesticated poultry raised in towers and fed by humans; quail are ground-dwelling birds commonly farmed intensively. Squabs carry Salmonella (6 of 45 = 13.3% in one study, mainly S. Typhimurium with multidrug resistance). No evidence shows that pigeon or quail meat is healthier than chicken. Lamb liver is allowed while chicken liver is forbidden, although liver from any species concentrates residues in the same way (e.g., Egyptian chicken livers had the highest antibiotic residues, I-CHK-12, but lamb liver was not compared).

4. What remains unclear?

Nutrient and contaminant differences between pigeon/quail and chicken under Egyptian conditions.

5. Which studies support it?

None for the distinction.

6. Which studies contradict it?

I-CHK-15 (Salmonella in squabs).

7. What applies to Germany and Europe?

Pigeon and quail are minor foods; EU hygiene rules apply to all poultry species.

8. What is known about Egypt?

Pigeon (often stuffed, 'حمام محشي') and quail are common traditional foods; pigeon towers and quail farms exist; avian influenza is enzootic in Egyptian poultry (I-CHK-10), which concerns all domestic birds handled alive.

9. What practical conclusion is appropriate?

The criterion separating 'allowed' and 'forbidden' birds is not a food-safety or nutrition criterion; the same hygiene rules apply to all poultry.

Assessment details

Rationale for certainty of evidence

The distinction is based on a non-scientific criterion (flight/feeding behaviour); no study comparing health effects of pigeon/quail vs chicken/duck/turkey meat was found. Pigeons/squabs also carry Salmonella (13.3% of 45 squabs in one study). Certainty very low due to lack of direct comparative evidence.

Source quality

Own words (several transcripts) plus third-party lists; the official archive list does not specify pigeon/quail or liver species.

Regional transferability

The criterion is universal; pigeon (حمام) and quail are traditional foods in Egypt.

Individual exceptions

Not applicable.

Regional scope of the claim

general (biological/medical)

Last reviewed

25 October 2026 provisional

In plain language

The system forbids chicken, duck, goose and turkey, but allows pigeon and (sometimes) quail. Dr. Elawady explained that 'real' birds fly and that ground-feeding farm birds are unsuitable. Pigeons and quail are also raised and fed by people, and pigeons can carry Salmonella just like chickens. He himself later said he had not known that quail are farmed. There is no scientific evidence that pigeon or quail meat is healthier or safer than chicken.

Studies on this claim

Regional context

Germany / EU

Pigeon and quail are minor foods; EU hygiene rules apply to all poultry species.

Egypt

Pigeon (often stuffed, 'حمام محشي') and quail are common traditional foods; pigeon towers and quail farms exist; avian influenza is enzootic in Egyptian poultry (I-CHK-10), which concerns all domestic birds handled alive.

• Food-safety governance and official controls
• Antibiotic (veterinary drug) residues in poultry meat and eggs
• Antimicrobial use in food animals and antibiotic growth promoters
• Hormones in poultry, meat, milk and farmed fish
• Salmonella in laying hens, eggs and broiler chicken
• Import controls and the meaning of RASFF notifications for Egyptian products

What applies in my country?

General scientific assessment

Mostly false The rule allowing pigeon and quail but forbidding other poultry is not based on scientific evidence and is internally inconsistent.

The following areas of food safety are relevant to this statement:

• Veterinary medicines and antibiotics
• Hormonal growth promoters
• Contaminants (heavy metals, PFAS, PCBs, dioxins, nitrate)
• Pathogens (Salmonella, Campylobacter, etc.)
• Animal husbandry and feed
• Controls, imports, recalls, labelling

Poultry

Limits: legal rules describe what is allowed, not what every single food contains. Measurement data come from samples and are meaningful only together with their method details.

Country of residence or purchase Compare with another country

References

1. Salmonella enterica serotypes isolated from squabs reveal multidrug resistance and a distinct pathogenicity gene repertoire.. Osman KM et al.. Rev Sci Tech 2014 · PMID 25812222 · DOI 10.20506/rst.33.3.2336
2. Health risk assessment of enrofloxacin, oxytetracycline, and sulfadimidine residues in broiler chicken carcasses marketed in Mit Ghamr, Egypt.. Noah SM et al.. Sci Rep 2026 · PMID 42527435 · DOI 10.1038/s41598-026-63227-2
3. Reviewing the relevance of dioxin and PCB sources for food from animal origin and the need for their inventory, control and management.. Weber R et al.. Environ Sci Eur 2018 · PMID 30464877 · DOI 10.1186/s12302-018-0166-9