Eggs - Decorated, Displayed, or Painted?

Many poultry shows, especially the ones associated with the summer Agricultural Shows, have classes for eggs variously described as 'decorated', 'displayed', or 'painted'. There is the Poultry Club standard for these.

Standards  for painted, decorated and displayed eggs

Shows can provide egg classes for prepared eggs. Variously classified as painted, decorated and displayed.

Painted Eggs

These eggs, either blown or hard - boiled, are painted with any of the usual media, oils, watercolours, inks etc. There must be no other adornment whatsoever, not even beads for eyes or bits of extra shell to provide texture. To set them off nicely, the organisers should provide physical support:  about 3cm (1 ¼ “) diameter cardboard rings,  1.25cm (½”)deep in which the egg can be placed upright.

Decorated Eggs

Here the egg is often painted, but in addition there is some form of decoration. They range from the very elaborate eggs, whose shells have been cut, revealing painted interiors behind open doors or drawers, to simply decorated eggs. In all cases the egg must be seen and its shape recognisable. Decoration can take the form of beads, cardboard, shells and, of course, colouring.

Displayed Eggs

Unlike the other two classes, this is usually for several eggs, usually six, the eggs themselves being unadorned. The exhibit consists of suitably chosen materials (cloth, flowers, bark or cardboard) that serves to highlight the clutch of eggs within the arrangement.

It is only in the displayed eggs that credit is given to the eggs used. Ill-matched, poor textured eggs would not enhance the overall effect of the exhibit and be penalised. Arrangements can include bantam, fowl and duck eggs, providing their shape is a match and their shells an even texture. Different colours, too, would not be penalised if such contrast were helpful to the general effect.

Judging is quite subjective, even with the scale of points outlined above. Because of this, these exhibits cannot be awarded Poultry Club Bronze Awards.