Wooden and ceramic eggs have lots of uses, ranging from enouraging hens to lay in the nests you provide, to creating stunning home decorations, to keeping kids busy with fun and educational activities. Here are just some of the countless things people do with wooden and ceramic eggs:
Nest Eggs
A “nest egg” is a wooden egg or ceramic egg placed in a nest to show pullets where to lay their eggs. When a pullet sees an egg already in the nest, she feels it must be a safe place to lay her own egg.
The notion that nest eggs make hens lay better is an old wives’ tale. On the other hand, by encouraging hens to lay in nests, rather than hide their eggs somewhere else, nest eggs help you find more of the eggs your hens do lay.
Another use for nest eggs is to find out if a broody hen is serious about setting. Instead of letting her start off on real eggs that she might later abandon, first test her broodiness by starting her out with fake eggs.
If you are trying to identify an egg-eating hen, a wooden or ceramic egg comes in handy. Place the egg on the hen house floor, then step back and watch through a window. The hen that steps up and repeatedly pecks the fake egg is your likely culprit.
Wooden eggs are made of plain, unfinished wood. Ceramic eggs come in a variety of colors, including brown, blue, white, and speckled.
Home Decor
Durable wooden and ceramic eggs make long-lasting decorations that may even become family heirlooms. Here are sixteen creative ideas to spark your imagination:
• Paint them to look like chicks.
• Wrap them in twine.
• Stripe them with string, yarn, or embroidery floss.
• Cover them with fancy lace using crochet thread or plain twine.
• Use adhesive vinyl to pattern the eggs.
• Create Star Wars galaxy eggs with acrylic paints.
• Gild them with gold leaf.
• Use silk flower petals to create lambs, butterflies, and other critters.
• Découpage them to complement your décor.
• Cover them with water color decals using Grafix transfer film.
• Stamp them with scrapbooking designs.
• Glue colorful paper punch patterns on them.
• Tattoo them.
• Decorate ceramic eggs with themed decals.
• Wood burn wooden eggs with amazing patterns.
• Use paint pens and let your imagination run wild.
For ready-made Christmas tree ornaments, Cackle Hatchery® offers a set of two ceramic eggs hanging from colorful ribbons. One is printed with “Santa cracks me up!” the other says “Elves crack me up!”
Toddler Toys
Whether painted or not, wooden and ceramic eggs provide endless hours of fascination for small children. These eggs are not too big for tiny hands, and not so small they can be easily swallowed.
Kids love to roll fake eggs on the floor. Unlike a round ball, an egg doesn’t roll in a straight line, therefore won’t roll far.
Removing and replacing the eggs in an egg carton is an engrossing activity that helps teach a small child hand-eye coordination. Eggs in a carton also can be used creatively to help teach a child to count.
Carrying an egg in a spoon is another coordination enhancing activity. To increase the fun, two or more kids might see who is the first to walk the distance without dropping the egg. To make the race more challenging for older kids, use wooden spoons.
Once you discover all the things you can do with wooden and ceramic eggs, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without them.
And that’s today’s news from the Cackle Coop.
