Scroll down for our Comprehensive Guide to entering Egg Classes at Poultry Shows!  

Next opportunity to show eggs:  Manawatū A&P Show 1st Nov 2025, Manfeild (see schedule here). 
Don’t miss: Egg Quality Seminar: What makes great hatching and great eating eggs?

Time:              Noon Saturday 1 November

Duration:      20 minutes

Location:      Main Building: next to the Egg Exhibit in the Poultry Show Area

Outline:         Join local poultry breeder and egg judge for quick look at what egg features determine good hatchability and great eating quality.  Very interesting!

 
Frequently Asked Questions about entering Egg Classes.

Do you have to show chickens in order to show eggs?

• No. ANYONE can show eggs!

My chooks are not purebred or of any breed, can I show their eggs?

• Yes! We’re judging the quality of the egg, not the hen that laid it.

My chooks lay a creamy beige coloured egg. Is that considered ‘Brown’?

• No. Beige, cream, pink or ‘tinted’ eggs are entered in the class for ‘AORC’ which means ‘Any other recognised colour’.

My chooks lay blue or turquoise coloured egg. Which class do I enter?

• The ‘AORC’ class (Any other recognized colour) is for any egg shell colour except White and Brown which have their own class.

How will eggs be judged?

• Refer to the brief excerpt from the New Zealand Standards for eggs for detail (further down page) 

• Eggs are judged for eating qualities and ‘hatchability’, meaning qualities that give a fertile egg the best chance of hatching a healthy live chick. Judging therefore includes assessment of external features (shell quality, uniformity, colour) and internal features (yolk and egg white quality, colour, consistency and other features important to taste, cooking and nurturing healthy chicks).

What is the difference between Painted, Decorated and Displayed eggs?

• Painted eggs: This is an entry of a single egg. These are painted with any of the usual media such as oil, water colours or inks. There must be no adornment such as beads or extra bits, e.g. to provide texture.

• Decorated eggs: This is an entry of a single egg. These may be painted but there is some form of additional decoration. Examples include carving, beads, glitter, cardboard and may be on the inside or outside of the egg, or both.

• Displayed eggs: Unlike the other 2 classes, this is for several eggs, usually up to 6. The eggs themselves are usually unadorned. The ‘display’ uses arty creative materials (cloth, bark, flowers, cardboard, etc) to highlight the clutch of eggs as an artistic arrangement. Your imagination is the limit.
   

NOTE before painting or decorating your eggs it is advisable to hard boil or 'blow' them (search YouTube for instructions on egg blowing.)
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Scroll down this page for example photos of painted, decorated and displayed egg entries.
 

Tips for selecting eggs in the standard classes. 
Please also refer to the copy of the Egg Standards further down this page. The key points are:
 

• Your 3 eggs should be uniform. Unless you buy a dozen of ‘mixed grade’ eggs, you expect them all to appear the same size and colour.

• Your eggs should be fairly ‘egg shaped’. This is why the Standard includes a table of ratios of radius to length: these are the proportions that give you a ‘normal’ shaped egg. This shape and ratio also gives you the best hatchability.

• How old can eggs be? You can start collecting as far in advance as 10 – 14 days: store them like you would if you were saving eggs for hatching. This will preserve the freshness of the egg and ensure you have enough time to select your 3 best eggs.

• It goes without saying that eggs need to be clean. They should NOT be washed or polished as this will disrupt the ‘bloom’, that ideally shiny coating on the surface of the eggs that protects the inside of the egg from bacterial contamination.

 

Copy of the Egg Standards.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is taken from New Zealand Poultry Standards, 3rd Edition with the author Ian Selby’s permission. It is only to be used for this purpose and not to be further copied or re-distributed without written permission from the author.

If you are serious about showing poultry we recommend you buy your own hard copy. This is considered the Bible for NZ poultry show folk and also includes detailed standards for all the heritage poultry breeds in NZ.  

The standards can be obtained (either in book, or folder form) directly from Ian Selby via

www. poultrynz. com or by email to poultrynz @ xtra. co.nz . Our club often has copies available for members to buy too, so if you are a member, please ask.