Fake Nest Eggs

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windwalkingwolf
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Fake Nest Eggs

Post by windwalkingwolf » Fri Nov 17, 2017 1:20 am

I wasn't sure where to put this, but this seemed as good a place as any. Admins, please move if there's a better spot for it.
So anyway, I use nest "placeholders", a.k.a. fake eggs, to encourage hens to lay in a specific spot, to encourage them to KEEP laying in a specific spot (I've found if I empty a nest, completely, the hens will look for ever more creative spots to hide eggs), and to encourage broodiness. I've used golf balls and plastic Easter eggs but had no success with those personally. Both just get punted out of nests and used as footballs.
There was a brief time I used marked, hard-boiled eggs with great success (swapped out frequently of course), but at some point, somehen figured out my ruse and ate them. Since that time, they all have a nose for cooked eggs, and even if a hen is very broody, they don't last long, so scrapped that idea too.
So, for the past five or six years, I've been using fake 'ceramic' eggs from Incubator Warehouse. Reasonably sized, reasonably weighted, dishwasher safe and virtually indestructible. Trust me, I tried. Only thing NOT reasonable to my mind, is the price of them...about 2.50 each for a 'medium' sized egg, and almost $4 for a turkey/small goose-sized egg.
Yes, they are infinitely reusable, but when a dozen hens go broody at once, or your animals wander like mine do, poop happens. Geese like to bury eggs, turkeys are expert at hiding or camouflaging, chickens tend to be picky about how many eggs are in a nest before they set, and pigs and dogs seem to think that those fake eggs make awesome chew toys. I've lost at least two dozen each of both sizes, one way or another, and a thousand years from now, some archaeologist will excavate stone eggs from my fields and be very, very confused. My property will be called "Egg Henge", and will be a huge tourist attraction for people following Neo Fertility Religions or somesuch.
But anyway, after researching alternative fake eggs (read, cheaper) such as wooden ones (not cheaper), I had the fabulous idea of making my own out of plaster of Paris, which I would seal when cured. So, then, I need a mold. I could use real eggs as a mold, but they are at a premium right now. Every egg I get is spoken for.
Surely, egg-shaped candles or soaps is a "thing"! I would buy that thing, so egg-shaped things must be popular. Appropriate molds will abound on internet shops! :D
Not really. I found one mold that will make "eggs" 2 1/4" long. One at a time. I found lots of clamshell chocolate molds that make half an egg at a time and the maker must then find a way to melt the two together... wouldn't work with plaster, or my very limited skill level.
I told DH Richard what I wanted, and by serendipity, he found THIS at a thrift store for 50 cents:
IMG_20171116_220747.jpg
Excuse my ancient phone camera and horrible photography skills.
It's a Jell-O mold, to make 6 eggs at a time, each egg almost 3 inches long..
Fifty cents! Scooooorrrreeee! It's plastic, but I figure spraying with Pam before I fill with plaster should work. If not, if I have to destroy the mold to get the eggs out, well, it was fifty cents. Now just to find some cheap plaster of Paris and test my theory. In the meantime, if you fine people come across these molds anywhere, hang onto the suckers, because apparently they're worth $20 used. Or send them to me, whatever ;)
IMG_20171116_220718.jpg
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Farrier1987
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Re: Fake Nest Eggs

Post by Farrier1987 » Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:00 am

Cheap plaster of paris in the 20 kg bag in the drywall section of a building supply store. Might not be called plaster of paris but drywall compound is almost all plaster of paris. I dont think sticking to the mould should be a problem because of polar and non polar molecules like oil and water. And plaster of paris process like cement does not actually dry, it sets due to a chemical reaction, and may get quite warm. After you fill the moulds, put it in a cool not cold place, like the basement or root cellar so the process happens more slowly. Let it completely cool before taking it out of the mould, or you do get a drying action on the surface instead of the chemical reaction and it is a lot weaker and powdery on the outside If it happens too fast, it can crack. If that becomes a problem, you can retard the process by adding a very small amount of sugar to the water and disolving it before you mix the plaster of paris. I cant tell you how much, but a 2 pound bag of sugar would do several tons of cement when I used it at the rig, and too much sugar, it will just stay soup pretty much for ever.

Let us know how it turns out.
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labradors
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Re: Fake Nest Eggs

Post by labradors » Fri Nov 17, 2017 11:53 am

Good for you in finding the cheap mold! I wonder if plastic wrap would do the trick to protect the mold, then you could re-use it fur ever :)

Linda
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Jaye
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Re: Fake Nest Eggs

Post by Jaye » Fri Nov 17, 2017 3:08 pm

Great thrift store find! I've never worked with plaster of paris, so can't offer any tips, but it sounds like it could be an inexpensive solution to your 'disappearing fake egg' dilemma.
You could also try those plastic chocolate/candy egg molds, like this one, if you need to replace the jello mold you found:
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windwalkingwolf
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Re: Fake Nest Eggs

Post by windwalkingwolf » Fri Nov 17, 2017 10:03 pm

Colin, thank you for the tips! I haven't worked with plaster since, oh, 1980 or so, and all I really remember is: mix, pour, wait. I'm glad it's a chemical reaction and not reliant on evaporation, that makes things SO much easier.
Jaye, awesome link--Cybertrayd has some great 'egg' sizes rather than the too few/too small/too large/too detailed, molds that I found! Sweet! Backup plan in place if I wreck the blue jello mold!
And their prices are good! And, they have beautiful and unique molds for soaps @WLLady and others. Cybertrayd. Check it out.
So now, to find Plaster of Paris. To be honest, I hadn't looked for it at all, and wasn't even sure it was even still 'a thing'. Now I have, and I'm pleased to report that I can buy it from Canadian Tire, or just about anywhere, for 5.99 for 2 kg of powder. Most excellent!
But, I'm cheap. To Freecycle I go!!
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WLLady
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Re: Fake Nest Eggs

Post by WLLady » Sat Nov 18, 2017 9:41 am

Www i visited the edge of my local golfcourse and snagged some lost golfballs....lol
yep drywall coumpound or even cement would work. Spackling compound will not work-it is too flaky...
and i will check them out thanks!!
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Epona
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Re: Fake Nest Eggs

Post by Epona » Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:37 pm

I use old Guinea eggs for every bird type. The Guinea eggs are practically indestructible and as I use old ones, the dogs get a wicked surprise in cracking open one. In fact, it has stopped the dogs from going after the eggs. Plus, I always seem to have tons of the things so I can make a nest as full as I need to get other birds in the mood. Easily identifiable to pull out of the nests when no longer needed.
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windwalkingwolf
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Re: Fake Nest Eggs

Post by windwalkingwolf » Sat Nov 18, 2017 8:43 pm

Best use of guinea eggs, ever! Unfortunately, I don't have guineas, the one time I thought they'd be fun to have, they turned out to be predator magnets, worse than broody ducks.
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kenya
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Re: Fake Nest Eggs

Post by kenya » Sun Nov 19, 2017 6:47 am

I also use golf balls
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