Eggs and Egg Cups
An egg cup should accommodate hen eggs varying from the largest to the smallest, but how big is that? And what about quail or ostrich eggs?
The cup needs to be tapered to acommodate a range of egg diameters so at the top it is the maximum egg diameter or a little below. The taper need to be such that the smallest egg isn't sunk too deep into the egg cup because of too shallow a taper, and the egg is held just below its maximum diameter so not too rapid a taper that may have the egg balanced on its tip!
The following is UK (and probably also EU) information on egg sizes. Other countries may differ.
Egg Sizes
Chicken eggs are graded by weight rather than by dimensions. Old data sources may give a numeric scale, but this stopped about 30 years ago.
| Size | Weight (g) | |
| Very large | 73+ | |
| Large | 63 - 73 | |
| Medium | 53 - 63 | |
| Small | Under 53 | |
Egg Dimensions
Brinsea Incubators give the following nominal dimensions for various birds:
| Species | Length (mm) | Diameter (mm) |
| Quail | 35 | 27 |
| Pheasant | 45 | 30 |
| Bantam | 58 | 40 |
| Chicken/Hen (large) | 62 | 43 |
| Turkey | 65 | 44 |
| Duck | 65 | 44 |
| Duck (large) | 70 | 47 |
| Goose | 90 | 55 |
Sizes can vary considerably according to the breed, food, environment etc.
Chickens
The record for the largest chicken egg is 92mm length and 63mm diameter or, from a genetically engineered chicken, 190mm long and 110mm diameter. The smallest is 21mm long, 17mm diameter.
One source gives length 54-57mm and diameter 43-49mm on eggs weighing 59-62g in Evaluation of Quality Parameters of White and Brown Eggs in Lebanon
This paper gives a length of 50-55mm, diameter 39-42mm for weights of 45-54g
Another gives length of 54-58mm, diameter 40-43mm for weights of 48-57g.
A summary of results of egg measurement systems gives length 44-64mm, diameter 39-57 for weights of 51-79g, so not the smallest of eggs - see Digital analysis of egg surface area and volume: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214317322000038
And a model for egg sizing covered the range of length 52-64mm, diameter/length 0.66 - 0.84, giving diameter 34 - 54 assuming the ratio isn't size dependent.
This indicates we need to accommodate a length of 50-64mm and a diameter of 39-54mm.
Turkeys
This paper gives the following ranges for turkey eggs from a variety of sources:
| Source | Length | Diameter |
| Ethiopian turkeys | 65 | 47 |
| Nigerian turkeys | 62 | 46 |
| Beltsville Small White and Board Breasted Bronze turkeys | 56 - 65 | 43 - 49 |
| Zagorje turkeys | 63 - 70 | 44 - 49 |
Design Resources
Ultimate Egg Cup Resources at Egg Cup Blog
Eierbechermuseum egg cups
VADS/UCA Egg cup design photos
(Evening) Standard best egg cups
Sight Unseen selection of egg cups
Etsy egg cups
Museum of Design in Plastic Egg Cups
Museum of Design in Plastic egg cup design blog post
Polish egg cup designs
Maison Flaneur Egg cups
Remodelista
Furstenberg egg cups