Sculpey guinea eggs

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Ok, so I decided to try the @R2elk Sculpey clay guinea egg for nest bait. It was about the same price for 3 vs 1 lb, so I have three lb of the stuff! This is “beige”. Let me start by saying that I apparently did not miss my calling as a sculptor... I built the clay up around an aluminum foil ball. I had so much difficulty with the shape! They turned out pretty lumpy, and I’m really wondering whether they will fool a guinea gal! Here are some pics of the Sculpey eggs and guinea eggs that I’ve blown out (those would be the ones that look like... real eggs) and filled with glue...and that still aren’t dry!!! Both methods are a total pain in the rear - someone needs to make sell fake guinea eggs! Talked with my DD about 3D printing... I’m going to roll some clay eggs in the dirt then try substituting one a day into the guinea’s outdoor nest that currently keeps four marked real eggs.. Wish me luck!

 

[R2elk]

Ok, so I decided to try the @R2elk Sculpey clay guinea egg for nest bait. It was about the same price for 3 vs 1 lb, so I have three lb of the stuff! This is “beige”. Let me start by saying that I apparently did not miss my calling as a sculptor... I built the clay up around an aluminum foil ball. I had so much difficulty with the shape! They turned out pretty lumpy, and I’m really wondering whether they will fool a guinea gal! Here are some pics of the Sculpey eggs and guinea eggs that I’ve blown out (those would be the ones that look like... real eggs) and filled with glue...and that still aren’t dry!!! Both methods are a total pain in the rear - someone needs to make sell fake guinea eggs! Talked with my DD about 3D printing... I’m going to roll some clay eggs in the dirt then try substituting one a day into the guinea’s outdoor nest that currently keeps four marked real eggs.. Wish me luck!

Not bad for a first try. I started by making a plaster of paris cast of half of a guinea egg. I form the clay into the mold at a little more than 1/8" thick and keep rotating it to get as much of it as possible with the finish from the mold. I then carefully work in some more clay to close off the opening. Next is to carefully use you thumb and fingers almost like sandpaper as you work off any bumps or misshapen areas.

I also will sand areas that need improvement after they are baked and before I apply Sculpey satin glaze.

If you start to get frustrated, put it down for awhile and return to it later with a fresh perspective. If you really get frustrated, squeeze it all back into a ball and start over.

I have found that some of the specialty colors, Rose Gold Glitter in particular, are much easier to work with than beige.

I limit myself to not trying to make more than 3 at one time. Obviously I have not found the best way to do it yet.

Instead of filling blown egg shells with glue, you might want to try filling them with plaster of paris.

 

[casportpony]

very cool!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Not bad for a first try. I started by making a plaster of paris cast of half of a guinea egg. I form the clay into the mold at a little more than 1/8" thick and keep rotating it to get as much of it as possible with the finish from the mold. I then carefully work in some more clay to close off the opening. Next is to carefully use you thumb and fingers almost like sandpaper as you work off any bumps or misshapen areas.

I also will sand areas that need improvement after they are baked and before I apply Sculpey satin glaze.

If you start to get frustrated, put it down for awhile and return to it later with a fresh perspective. If you really get frustrated, squeeze it all back into a ball and start over.

I have found that some of the specialty colors, Rose Gold Glitter in particular, are much easier to work with than beige.

I limit myself to not trying to make more than 3 at one time. Obviously I have not found the best way to do it yet.

Instead of filling blown egg shells with glue, you might want to try filling them with plaster of paris.

OMG, trying to follow in your Sculpey footsteps is killing me, R2elk!!! Plaster or
Paris??? Special Sculpey glaze???That’s it, these guinea nests have officially driven me around the bend! I’m just going to eat our guineas instead!

in all seriousness, I came up with the glue because from reading through blown egg forums, the heat created by the plaster of Paris was said to make that technique very tricky. So I got the no heat powder mold, and it would set up before I could get it into the egg. That’s when I tried wood glue. It works, but I have to add it in layers so it dries, and it takes forever. That’s why I was so bummed last year when our predators took the glue eggs! Why do you glaze the eggs?

 

[R2elk]

OMG, trying to follow in your Sculpey footsteps is killing me, R2elk!!! Plaster or
Paris??? Special Sculpey glaze???That’s it, these guinea nests have officially driven me around the bend! I’m just going to eat our guineas instead!

in all seriousness, I came up with the glue because from reading through blown egg forums, the heat created by the plaster of Paris was said to make that technique very tricky. So I got the no heat powder mold, and it would set up before I could get it into the egg. That’s when I tried wood glue. It works, but I have to add it in layers so it dries, and it takes forever. That’s why I was so bummed last year when our predators took the glue eggs! Why do you glaze the eggs?

The quickest way to fill the eggs is to use the spray foam. Use the type that doesn't expand as much, such as the kind sold for doors and windows. Wear gloves because that stuff is nasty to get off of your hands.

I glaze the eggs because it gives them a nice finish and makes them hold up longer in the weather. One little bottle goes a very long way.

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

Those look really good! I never thought of making clay eggs to encourage nesting before....

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Those look really good! I never thought of making clay eggs to encourage nesting before....

Thanks! They were supposed to be more predator resistant than last year’s glue filled guinea eggs, but last night, something swiped two of the three eggs! I couldn’t find it in the brush around the nest, so I’m guessing that a snake ate those two eggs!

 

[R2elk]

Thanks! They were supposed to be more predator resistant than last year’s glue filled guinea eggs, but last night, something swiped two of the three eggs! I couldn’t find it in the brush around the nest, so I’m guessing that a snake ate those two eggs!

I was missing one of those fake eggs in the fall of 2018. Turned out the guineas buried it becuase I found it the next spring right in the nest it disappeared from. The winter weather caused enough of it to become uncovered that I was able to see it.

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

I was missing one of those fake eggs in the fall of 2018. Turned out the guineas buried it becuase I found it the next spring right in the nest it disappeared from. The winter weather caused enough of it to become uncovered that I was able to see it.

I’m still locking our guineas up, so I had verified it was there the evening before, then the two eggs disappeared overnight! So something else moved those eggs... I will keep an eye out for them as I think a snake would regurgitate them. We have some pretty dense brush so the eggs may be hard to find!

 

[Mixed flock enthusiast]

Losing eggs from outdoor nests in the daytime inspired me to make another set of Sculpey eggs! Guineas seem to accept them well despite obvious differences from their eggs. I already had two Sculpey disappear from a nest today. I’m suspecting crows - always something!!!