Goose eggs are great

We’ve become so used to factory farming and an uninterrupted supply of eggs that it often comes as a surprise to people that most geese are programmed to lay just in spring. In China and Eastern Europe, goose strains have been developed to lay up to 100 eggs per year, but the norm is about 30 eggs, around Easter. Goslings are still the archetypal Easter bird.

All-year-round eggs were not the norm before controlled food, heat and lighting. Easter eggs were something special – something to be enjoyed. So, where birds were kept as an integral part of the farm economy, many traditions to celebrate the egg have grown up. These activities included the eggs of all types of birds - the ducks and hens as well.

Intricately decorated eggs are famous in Persia, the Ukraine and Poland and the migration of Europeans to both North and South America has ensured that these spring egg traditions have migrated with them. Perhaps the most famous one of these is the White House egg roll where children push the Easter eggs, with long-handled spoons, through the grass on the lawn.

The lawn here looks flat, but the true egg roll tradition probably goes back to the UK and Poland when decorated eggs were rolled down grassy banks, the tradition going back hundreds of years. Known as "pace-egging", the name derives from the Old English Pasch meaning Easter.

The pre-Christians celebrated a spring goddess at the Rite of Spring - at the Equinox on March 21. The rebirth of the land was symbolised by the egg as it hatched and burst into life. The egg was believed to have special powers and is said to have been buried under the foundations of buildings to ward off evil.

The symbolism of the egg was then absorbed into the Christian celebration of the resurrection of Christ, specifically symbolising rebirth of man rather than nature. Folklore and Christian beliefs were blended. Polish legend tells how the tears of the Virgin Mary at the cross fell onto the eggs she was carrying, spotting them with dots in brilliant colours.

From such tales there probably arose the wonderful creations of Polish art – the pisanka (plural pisanki) which are decorated using various techniques with dyes and molten wax. The most famous decorated Easter eggs were those made by the House of Fabergé from 1885 to 1917.

Of course these were not eggs at all, but artefacts in the shape of eggs. They were beautifully crafted ornaments in precious metals, encrusted with jewels.

The most famous eggs produced by the House were the larger ones made for Alexander III and Nicholas II of Russia.

The first of these was an egg within an egg. It appeared to be of simple, white enamel and platinum but inside there was a golden egg and, within this, a golden hen.

Concealed within the hen was a miniature of the Imperial crown. This special Fabergé egg so delighted the Czarina that the Czar went on to reward Fabergé with a commission for an Easter egg every year.

It is these Fabergé eggs that many egg decorators want to mimic, and it is only the much larger eggs of goose, emu and ostrich, which have a thicker and stronger shell, which can be carved into such intricate designs.

Blowing goose eggs When eggs are destined to be kept as real work of art, then they are first blown of their raw contents so that the egg shell alone is preserved.

Duck eggs are not very suitable for blowing because the shell is not strong enough.

Goose eggs are much better, but need special treatment because of the thickness of the shell and the stiffer, more gelatinous albumen, compared with hen eggs.

Very large goose eggs are tempting to use but the very largest double-yolked eggs may not work well.

The shell is often not strong enough, and imperfections can be seen if the egg is candled, ie a light is shone through it.

Method n First puncture the shell at the pointed end with a very sharp compass point. Start with a small hole and aim to enlarge it later. A fine bit on an electric drill works well.

Puncture the egg at the bulbous end. The hole will need to be 4mm in diameter to get the contents out; it needs to be larger at the exit than the end where you blow in. Note that a ‘one hole’ method can also be employed.

Use a knitting needle to break up the contents, and shake the egg. If the membranes are intact, blowing will be impossible.

Using the smaller hole, blow out the contents into a bowl. Be careful of the pressure on your ears.

Wash the egg shell out thoroughly, using dilute bleach or Milton. Dry the egg out completely afterwards. If the holes are too large they can be filled later with decorative materials.

I can’t stress enough that blowing goose eggs may not be good for the ears, because of air pressure. So, it is advisable to use a syringe or a pump as an aid to emptying the contents. A needle connected to a large syringe can be used through just one hole to withdraw the raw egg. Alternatively, a pump can be used to force the raw egg out through the opposing hole.

The pump method also works with a ‘one hole’ egg, especially if pressure is applied under water. For pumps, people use a variety of appliances including bicycle pumps (with the attachment to blow up a football) and even foot pumps. Pumps are also available for this specific purpose from egg decoration suppliers.

With larger pumps, make sure that too much pressure does not damage the egg, or cause the contents to spray everywhere.

Obtaining goose eggs for decoration If you don’t want to prepare the eggs yourself, ready-blown eggs are often available from goose hatcheries: just search on Google and you will find that blown eggs are a by-product of the industry, for example from Norlfolk Geese.

These eggs are the ‘incubator clears’ – the infertile eggs which have failed to show any development when they were candled between four to seven days.

The eggs are none the worse for their few days spent in the incubator and, in times of food hardship such as during World War II, incubator clears were still used for cooking.

Design and exhibition The advantage of the much larger eggs of goose, emu and ostrich is that the stronger shell can be carved into intricate designs. However, cutting equipment is needed for these and advice on equipment might be sought from the Egg Crafters Guild of Great Britain. This is definitely not a young child’s activity.

If you want to keep things simple, the eggs can be painted and acrylic paints work well. Transfers can also be applied and they can be obtained from egg decoration suppliers.

Decoupage, the sticking of small paper cut-out shapes to cover the egg, is also an effective way of decorating eggs and the end result can be varnished to preserve the design. If you have cutting equipment, an easy way to start is to gently saw an egg in half so that it can be made into a hinged container. All the glues, elegant fabrics, braids and trims, ‘jewels’ and tiny hinges can be obtained from craft suppliers.

Bird shows often have a section for fresh eggs where the exhibits are judged for shell quality and/or the contents.

The larger shows often have sections for painted and decorated eggs. Goose eggs are the most popular type for this purpose. The painted egg section is, as it says, when only paint is applied to the shell. Decorated eggs, on the other hand, can be sculpted and other materials applied.