Dummy egg vintage
- Vintage dummy egg which was used to encourage hens to lay where you want them to .
- Quite a bit of age to this so may in fact be antique.
- Good weight so won’t be displaced by your chickens.
- Weight and patina suggests this is stone rather than ceramic and in fact it may be unpolished marble.
Dimensions of the antique dummy egg
- About the size of a medium to large chicken egg
- Weight 140g just under 5 oz
- Height 6cm
- Width 1.75cm
- Circumference
What is a dummy egg
A dummy egg, also known as a fake egg or a decoy egg, serves various purposes across different contexts. The dummy egg mimics the appearance of real eggs and are used to influence animal behavior, protect real eggs, or serve as durable stand-ins in various settings. Here are some common uses of fake eggs of this kind:
Poultry and Bird Keeping
- Training hens to lay eggs in specific locations: Dummy eggs have been used for centuries for this purpose. They are often placed in nesting boxes to encourage hens to lay their eggs in these designated spots. Hens are drawn to lay their eggs where they see other eggs, so the presence of a dummy egg can help train them.
- Discouraging broodiness: Sometimes, dummy eggs can help manage broody behavior (when hens sit on eggs trying to hatch them). By replacing real eggs with fake ones, farmers can reduce the hen’s desire to sit on the nest.
- Preventing egg eating: In cases where hens have developed the habit of eating their own eggs, dummy eggs can be used to break this behavior. Because dummy eggs can't be broken or eaten, hens may eventually stop trying.
- Breeding and incubation practices: In some breeding programs, dummy eggs are used to replace real eggs which are then incubated artificially, ensuring the real eggs are kept in optimal conditions.
