An egg-citing post...?

Did you know chickens lay blue eggs? No, neither did I until my Hen Pal presented me with a lovely eggy selection last summer which included a blue one.

I love hens, but don’t have time to keep them myself. Hen Pal currently has eight chickens and we are lucky in that we get a regular supply of gorgeous, totally free-range eggs. The yolks are a rich orange, not like anything you can buy, and they taste amazing.

The blue egg layer is a pretty chicken called Hetty and, just to confuse things further, she is a Cream Leg Bar! The blue eggs taste no different to the other eggs, but they just look so lovely…

Eggs are wonderful things - delicious to eat of course, but also fun to be creative with. Blowing eggs is not that difficult and you can still eat the egg so it’s not at all wasteful.

As a child, I loved blowing eggs and decorating them, why not have a go this Easter, it’s great fun!

How to blow an egg:

You need to ‘get the feel’ of your egg, grip it firmly enough, but not too hard so it breaks. If you always work over a bowl even if you break one you can still use the contents once you’ve picked any shell out!

First, grasp your egg! Insert a long needle into the large end of the egg to make a small hole. Work the needle around a bit to enlarge the hole slightly.

Then, do the same on the other end, but this time wiggle the needle more to make a bigger hole - this is the end the egg will come out from.

Push the needle into the centre of the egg and move it around to break up the yolk.

Now, place your mouth over the end with the smaller hole, the other end over a bowl and gently blow into the egg. It might take a few puffs before it starts to come out, but once going it will all come out with a few blows. If any of the egg gets stuck, shake the egg and give it a few more prods with the needle.

Rinse out the egg by running a thin stream of water into the larger hole, then blow out the water the same way that you blew out the egg. Leave to dry and then they’re ready to decorate.

And now - it’s up to you! Paint them, stick on sequins, draw on them with Promarkers or any other alcohol-based ink like the Spectrum Noir range. Great Easter gifts for old and young alike.

Comments

[Barbara Pennell]

You've just brought back some lovely memories Joanna. My Dad taught me to blow eggs when I was young. I must try again now, then decorate them with bits from my stash. Thank you so much for your Country Blog, I love it. xx

[Carole Z]

Lovely post! I've often had blue eggs in the past, but for the last five years we have kept a few hens of our own as pets. One of them is blue herself in certain lights! She is a very pretty Bluebelle and her colours range from grey to lavender blue. They are such lovely pets and their garden antics are a great anti-stress relief! X

[Maureen Thompson]

Another lovely and interesting post Joanna much appreciated and enjoyed - thank you x

[Doreen Giles]

I remember doing this as a child when my parents had some chickens, but I have a tortoise that lays eggs every year and I put them in the shed for a few months until they dry up inside without blowing them, the school children love to keep them,

[janetannc]

I regularly buy mixed colour eggs from a local farm - blues, speckled browns and a pinky brown. Never thought of blowing them and keeping them though - what a good idea. I used to blow eggs to decorate when I was younger. Maybe the imagination declines as one ages!! Thanks for the inspiration
Janet

[Jan Cass]

Like others I did egg blowing as a child and did it with my children, just waiting for the grandchildren to grow enough to enjoy doing it! I love the blog and look forward to reading more. Thanks

[Jean]

really interesting Joanna - very enjoyable - Jean x

[Joanna Sheen]

Lovely to read all your posts, thank you! I thought chickens and eggs would be popular. Gosh, seems we all used to blow eggs when we were little, would be good to keep the tradition going. Smiles, Joanna

[Christine Mason]

Thank you Joanna for the memories, I used to do a lot of painting on blown hens eggs when I was in my teens, only held back because Mom couldn't keep up the endless supply I would have liked lol, maybe we should have had chickens

[janet7]

loved reading this project, my friend has these chickens you mentioned, they lay the most wonderful egggs, i do keep chickens myself but have never blown eggs, maybe i will give this a try.
thanks joanna
jan