western australia

Carved emu eggs at our house-sit

Carved emu eggs

@JudyEv (340466)

Rockingham, Australia

August 27, 2022 7:14pm CST

Two of the interesting items in our house-sit were these carved emu eggs. Some are a brighter green but they do fade over time. When I was a child, we had a pet emu once and I can remember Mum’s excitement when we first found an egg that she’d laid. She went on to lay a clutch of eggs each year for nineteen years. The most she ever laid was 36. You can catch up here: An emu called Emu / myLot. Vin and I tried to carve some but we weren’t very creative. The shells are very hard with a number of layers. Each layer gets progressively paler.

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32 responses

@CarolDM (203422)

• Nashville, Tennessee

28 Aug 22

How unique are these. I always like to have things different than what everyone else has. These are beautiful.

4 people like this

@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

As you say, it's nice to have something a bit different.

2 people like this

@CarolDM (203422)

• Nashville, Tennessee

28 Aug 22

@JudyEv Totally agree with you.

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@RubyHawk (99405)

• Atlanta, Georgia

28 Aug 22

I can’t imagine how you would carve an egg without breaking it.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

@RubyHawk They are just naturally stronger I guess. You can smash them if you try hard enough.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

The eggs are much more solid than a hen's egg.

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@RubyHawk (99405)

• Atlanta, Georgia

28 Aug 22

@JudyEv Why do the shells not break?

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@dfollin (25347)

• United States

28 Aug 22

So pretty!

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

Yes, I thought so too.

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@58lordstreet (1668)

•

28 Aug 22

hello

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

@58lordstreet Haha - hello back.

These all look like they're having bad hair days!!

Did you take the photo?

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@much2say (55686)

• Los Angeles, California

28 Aug 22

What tools are they carved with? I wonder how hard/thick the shells are. Can a person "buy" egg shells to carve? I would love to try

!

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@much2say (55686)

• Los Angeles, California

2 Sep 22

@JudyEv We have similar tools here . . . but now where to get the emu egg shells! I saw online they seem to average about $20. Amazing that a emu chick could break outta there!

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

3 Sep 22

@much2say I hadn't given much thought to the chicks needing to get out!

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

We used a Stanley trimmer. I don't know what you'd call it. It's about the size of a thick pocket knife so you can get a good grip and has a short, stout blade. The shells are very solid. You can buy uncarved eggs at tourist venues but I don't know what they cost.

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@rebelann (112885)

• El Paso, Texas

28 Aug 22

I can't imagine carving an egg ..... well, I've only seen chicken eggs and I doubt anyone could carve those. Did you ever have any baby Emus back then?

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@rebelann (112885)

• El Paso, Texas

28 Aug 22

That's too bad @JudyEv I'll bet it would've been fun if she'd had babies now and then.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

We only had the one emu so the eggs weren't fertile.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

@sweerie_banana It is slow work trying to carve one.

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Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (61219)

• Centralia, Washington

28 Aug 22

Such a delightful post and wonderful memories. You don't have ostriches in Australia?

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Lenore Plassman

@sallypup (61219)

• Centralia, Washington

28 Aug 22

@JudyEv They kick sideways, right? I heard of a lady who had her leg broken by I think it was an emu. She was raising the birds for meat.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

@sallypup I'm sure they could break your leg. They have a very strong toe too - useful for disembowelling any dogs that might harass them. And they can kick every which way.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

We do as some people farm ostriches. There aren't any wild one (or shouldn't be).

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@snowy22315 (180979)

• United States

28 Aug 22

Now that is something different and unusual isn't it?

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

Yes, it is. I like the one on the stand.

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@marguicha (223297)

• Chile

28 Aug 22

That´s interesting. I never knew emu´s eggs could be carved.

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@marguicha (223297)

• Chile

28 Aug 22

@JudyEv We don´t have those birds here. I can only watch them on nature shows on TV.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

There are several layers to the egg and each layer is lighter in colour,

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@RebeccasFarm (89980)

• Arvada, Colorado

28 Aug 22

And what tool to carve with Judy? Those are really something beautiful Judy!

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@RebeccasFarm (89980)

• Arvada, Colorado

28 Aug 22

@JudyEv Yes a Stanley knife we call them the same the small ones.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

We used a Stanley trimmer. I'm not sure what you'd call it. It's a stubby shape with just a small sharp blade at one end.

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@wolfgirl569 (106607)

• Marion, Ohio

28 Aug 22

Those are very pretty. I remember you writing about Emu

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@wolfgirl569 (106607)

• Marion, Ohio

28 Aug 22

@JudyEv Those are the best kind.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

@wolfgirl569 For sure, especially if you're getting older or busy with other things.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

She was another low maintenance pet, like Hercules was.

She just ran with the chooks.

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@Kandae11 (55047)

•

28 Aug 22

I suppose the eggs do hatch....

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

They have all had the insides blown out. They would only hatch if they were fertile and I've never heard of anyone hatching them in a incubator or whatever. Normally it's the males that sit on the eggs and care for the chicks.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

@Kandae11 No, because we didn't have a male emu - just the one hen.

@Kandae11 (55047)

•

28 Aug 22

@JudyEv l was referring to the 36 eggs your pet emu laid over the years - did they all hatch?

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@gtdoss (1013)

• United States

28 Aug 22

I just recently learned about carved emu eggs from an Australian TV show I was watching. Really fascinating!

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

That would have been interesting. We carved a couple but we weren't very good.

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@yoalldudes (35037)

• Philippines

28 Aug 22

First time I heard of emu. What species is it?

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

The taxonomic name is Dromaius novaehollandiae. They can't fly and are a bit smaller than an ostrich.

@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

@58lordstreet The photos you put up were emus. Maybe the younger ones have woolly topknots.

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@58lordstreet (1668)

•

28 Aug 22

@JudyEv not sure mine are actually emus , they look a lot prettier lol

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@Beestring (14577)

• Hong Kong

28 Aug 22

This is something new to me. The carved eggs look beautiful.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

If the emu is on good feed as in green grass rather than dried grass, the eggs are an emerald green colour.

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@Beestring (14577)

• Hong Kong

28 Aug 22

@JudyEv Emerald green is even more beautiful.

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@allknowing (136769)

• India

28 Aug 22

Can emu eggs be consumed?

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@allknowing (136769)

• India

29 Aug 22

@JudyEv Fine as long as they were used.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

We scrambled one but found it a bit strong. We used the eggs to make sponge cakes in the baking dish.

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changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (16764)

• China

28 Aug 22

I see three Chinese characters on the certificate of the photo,they are Autumn,mountain and dragon.I guess they can't use fertilized emu eggs to carve and those eggs have to be processed in some ways before carve them.

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changjiangzhibin89

@changjiangzhibin89 (16764)

• China

29 Aug 22

@JudyEv Interesting ! They have to do it with great care !

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

@changjiangzhibin89 We would make a small hole in each end then poke a skewer in the hole and stir the contents to break up the yolk. Then we would start to blow the contents out the hole.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

The eggs would be 'blown' before being carved. A small hole would be drilled in each end and the contents blown out.

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@nela13 (58691)

• Portugal

28 Aug 22

I have heard about green eggs but I didn't know that it is emu who puts it.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

This is the colour I remember from ours.

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@nela13 (58691)

• Portugal

29 Aug 22

@JudyEv It is really green. I have never seen one.

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Krissttina Isobe

@oahuwriter (26777)

• United States

28 Aug 22

They are huge eggs compared to chicken eggs.

Nice carvings!

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

I think they are equal to about nine hen eggs.

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Krissttina Isobe

@oahuwriter (26777)

• United States

30 Aug 22

@JudyEv Huge! Well, emus are big birds.

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@arunima25 (87818)

• Bangalore, India

28 Aug 22

I would love to have such unique pieces for my house decoration. It looks elegant too. It's the first time that I heard of something like a carving on the egg. I could not imagine someone craving on eggs and not breaking it. They are so fragile. I am not sure about emu's eggs. Is it hard enough to be carved out??

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

@arunima25 The shell is much, much tougher than the shell of a hen's egg. You can put quite a bit of pressure on it. I don't know what to compare it to but they don't break easily. Maybe like carving a coconut to start with but of course it is a shell and not a solid.

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

29 Aug 22

These are emu eggs and have been carved. Vin and I did a couple but we're not really artistic enough. Ours had more simple carvings on them.

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@arunima25 (87818)

• Bangalore, India

29 Aug 22

@JudyEv Aren't these fragile? Do they boil the eggs before carving or is there any other trick to save them from breaking while carving? I have never seen or touched emu egg..I know that it's huge. So, I have so many doubts about carving an egg.

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@Butterfingers (66583)

• India

28 Aug 22

These look really good in a drawing room

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@JudyEv (340466)

• Rockingham, Australia

28 Aug 22

It's something a bit different.

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