The Easter Ostrich

What with the price and eggs and all, and zookeepers not getting the best pay, an entrepreneurial keeper might be inclined to think outside the box this holiday weekend... or at least outside the Easter basket.  

I have, on a few occasions (and with management's approval, in the past) taken an ostrich egg home.  These were all infertile eggs (I could tell because we only had females) and there was no possibility of them hatching.  In most cases, I blew out the eggs because I wanted the shells, perhaps as gifts for folks (I used to give them as thank you presents on behalf of folks who had really helped out the zoo with special favors).  On one occasion, I decided to eat some, scrambling the egg.  It's true what they say, one ostrich egg is the equivalent of twenty-four chicken eggs.  Having one egg would seem to save you a bit on grocery bills then... if only they tested good.  I myself did not like it very much.  Way too much yolk, too little white.

But, and hear me out, what if you had an ostrich Easter egg?  

I know a guy who hard-boiled an ostrich egg for his kids - he said it took hours.  Once it was done, he cut slices off of it for their sandwiches, to the amazement of their friends at lunch in school the next day.  That would be a commitment, for sure, both boiling it and eating it.  I can also imagine ostrich eggs being fun to dye - being so much larger, there is so much more surface area for fun designs.  

And hiding them for Easter egg hunts?  That might be a little less fun for older kids, while making it easier for younger ones.  It's a lot hider to hide, and a lot easier to find, an egg when it's the size of your head.

Happy Easter!  

PS: Speaking of Easter eggs, the CEO of the San Antonio Zoo has hidden an ostrich egg, containing four free passes to the Zoo, somewhere in San Antonio's Brackenridge Park.  Happy hunting!