Getting ready for a new batch of cultured egg. Another few hours of cracking the remaining 3500 eggs tomorrow. I hopefully can move on to phase two. 4680 eggs in total on this load.

Some sleepless nights ahead as things begin to happen.

Awesome!! I know I speak for many hobbyist, we love seeing a glimpse of a day in the life of true professionals Bob. Looking forward to seeing it all come together and I for one plan on cracking a dozen soon myself to see what happens, lol.

Beezmador is right, it's awesome seeing a glimpse. Thanks for sharing!

Just finished the last few thousand eggs Now I need to label all the buckets with the start date. I ended up with 16 / 5 gal buckets to start this batch. I will end up with another few buckets as they near the end of the culturing process. There is some growth expansion as things progress and begin to mature. That is when things go into labor. .

What is the idea temperature for making “big omelets”?

That will make a many of jar Fox Cream.

Generally speaking in the seventies temperature works well for most ageing purposes.
With the eggs, you might have a big mess if the temp is too hot?
Just my 2 cents. Try a few small batches too get the hang of it first, that's what I did.

Bob, would filling more buckets less full decrease the amount of labor involved? Is there a reason to fill to the point that expansion may make more buckets necessary?

Label, Date, Document and Record all that you do. Tape over your labels for longer protection from wear, fade and abuse.




Monitor your projects daily depending on what you have working. Insects and animals are your worst enemy with aging of any product that has an odor. We have two types of flies that are always trying to invade our product and we must be vigilante as to their presence.

A particular fly the size of a fruit fly is extremely attracted to our egg base while it is aging. We must treat all bucket lids and rims with a commercial areosol fly bait. Most die before causing a problem. But we must always have a sharp eye out for such problems.




Always good to have some help with such time consuming tasks. It took 2 days to complete all the egg preparations and clean up. That is with 2 people at it. Could have been done in one day but I always have many other tasks to handle during the day. Packing and shipping orders is a daily routine also.

I talked a neighbor into cracking some eggs and helping out. I explained how much fun it is. Not sure if she will do it again. LOL


All buckets are stirred, labeled and prepped for the magic to begin. Started with 16 buckets but most likely will end up with 19 or 20 as a guess. The stacked three buckets in the center background of the one photo are my over flow buckets. They need to be at the ready when things begin to work fast.

A dipping Qt. size cup is handy as are some Nitrile gloves. My roller stool is handy for scooting around quickly as needed during the critical times.

A stir stick is ready to release some gas in each bucket as it starts to rise. This can happen as you watch it develop at times. Over flow is guaranteed if preparations aren't made and you know what to do. My first big batch years ago was too funny to share. Science at work for sure.

Sportsman 94, I fill all buckets to about 3" from the top to allow for some expansion. You can see the level in a couple photos. Each bucket is different as to its rise level. I try to keep my number of buckets to a bare minimum because of the space needed to work them for 2 weeks. They will be in the way in my facility this whole time to allow for easy access in working them.
Once completed they will all be moved and stacked and placed in their spot until needed.

When they have matured, I will have near full volume of finished product for each bucket after I have dipped off the expansion material.

If I was only doing a couple small batches, it would be much easier to control and to avoid accidents. We usually do 70 to 80 gal on avg. however this batch will be near 100 gal. or better from my calculations. But that's ok. Just more to keep watch over and to keep under control. It will be hectic for a few days until things reach their peak.

Bob, what's the reason that the egg shell isn't used?
Thanks for the tour.

The shells are extremely dense. The cracked shell pieces that split off the egg membrane sink to the bottom of a bucket almost immediately. You would think they would float but they sink like lead. They have no value in our use for consistency of product. They are great eye appeal for sets and carry egg odor when cracked open, even the dried shells still have odor. Mild in odor but still attractive to predators, dogs and cats in the shell form.

The shells and splintered shell pieces would all sink in a culture unless they were stirred while the product was setting up for the final stage. They would then be suspended within the egg paste. I have done batches years back with cracked whole eggs and shells. It was very bulky to work with and to jar up but still was very effective as a bait.

Thanks Bob.

Ok so i am new to trapping and I understand that this is for bait. Do you use this as a base to add other ingredients or do you use this as an actual bait. What kind of critters will come to this? Thank you for sharing i’m learning so much by reading this forum.

This kind of cultured egg can be used straight as a bait, it can be built upon as a base material or used as an ingredient. There have been previous discussions as to its benefits and use. All fur bearers are attracted to eggs in my experience and testing. Just the eggshell itself has great value as an attraction. So you can imagine the boosted odor from a developed raw material. If you would smell it, you would find it appealing.

Hope the Omelette cooking is going well!

Thanks to the tips from everyone on Trapperman, I’m working on my first attempt in making fermented eggs.

This is 11 farm fresh eggs and I’m 5 days in. It’s been pretty cool outside until the past 2 days and the eggs are in a horse barn so even cooler, but starting to see some activity. Yesterday I noticed there are some white formations on the surface and one on the bottom of the jar.

Does this look normal at this stage in the game or is something going sideways?

Thanks guys!

This photo shows the beginning of this run. All buckets filled and stirred. This is the start of the official count down from 6/16/23




Getting close to the end of the journey now. The culturing process is working very quickly. Expanding and thickening nicely in the last 36 hours. 13 of 16 buckets are neck and neck to the last few final days.





This is 2 of the 3 that still are lagging behind. Always seems to be some that require a few more days to ripen. i know what I will be doing on the 4th of July.





It appears some of my photos had some glare from the flash. I tried to retake a couple of photos to give a better view of how our batches look near the end.The lighting conditions are not the best in our facility and my vision is also impaired but I did my best to get a clear photo.

I think making lure/bait is more of an art than most people think! The hardest part I've found is repeating a successful formula.
You're an artist Bob

Thank You Bob, you are a great teacher!
The few batches of eggs I have made.
They get a small Water Line after setting a few days.
Is this Just a normal trait of the Eggs?
The culturing process went well for me. I was just wondering about the clear liquid? Thanks.

Eggs as well as some other organic materials consist of a high percent of water. Under certain conditions and types of containers used, several things could contribute to the fluid content and how much water develops. You can siphon or work out the fluid if you want.

I have pulled off 3 extra buckets of egg volume overflow since late last night and 2 pm this afternoon. I may get one more bucket in the next 24-36 hours, that will give us 3-4 extra buckets which I predicted in the beginning. That will give us about 20 buckets. Right about 96 to 100 plus gallons.

Some buckets will be a bit shy of a full 5 gal. volume. Much of the volume increase due to the developing byproduct gas will be lost in the final blending stage. The trapped gas that was in the culture will be released at that point.

Them eggs are coming along great!!!

I was wondering about the clear liquid myself and wondering if
I should be stirring more often ?

Looks great! I recently started a batch and was able to see where the 'omelet' level was from the outside of the bucket so I marked it in an effort to track the progress. I'm SO eager to see how this batch turns out- I made two significant changes which I believe may improve my final product. Hope to post progress pics in the coming week!

How I spent most of my 4th yesterday. Putting the final touch to our egg culture. A few buckets are still catching up but should be finished in a few hours or as late as tomorrow morning.

Conditions were different this go round. We usually run a batch every 11-12 days. This batch was 5 days longer. You can't control some environmental conditions. When we run in August it is a faster turnaround.

We were getting low on inventory so we had to move on it earlier then usual. A few photos of my days work in progress. Lots of prep and mix time when we roll through a big batch. I am glad this is done for the year. Next is Castor and Oil Sac work up followed by Bobcat and Beaver meat work. Time to clean out the freezers.

Welcome to a glimpse over my shoulder. Do you still want to be a lure maker??





Buckets lined up with all the ingredients pre measured for each 15 gallon bowl run.



This big mixer does a great job at thorough blending of all the ingredients. No dead spots or hot spots with this model.



Things are all blended nicely and transferred to the dumping station ready for unloading. Notice our "bowl scale" platform under the dump station arms on the floor. It is the Stainless Steel square box gives us an accurate weight and volume per load. The gal that is in that system has a sexy voice. When I get lonely she and I talk once in a while. LOL



Our custom designed bowl hoist / dumping station is a must. Full bowls are too heavy to control safely. We use it for 55 gal Drum loading and 5 gallon bucket loading.



The finished blended buckets are lining up in the background. All have been dated with the Start and completed finished blended date. A bowl with a "bonnet" in background keeps a batch from drying out until its ready for dumping. Moving air / evaporation and dryout occurs much faster then most realize.



How the final egg culture run looks before it goes into storage. Looks like yellow wet cake batter ready for the baking pan. It changes over the next few weeks as it ages.

Looks amazing, I can almost smell it from here!!

Mr. Jameson, you inspired me to take a look and see how it’s coming along. This is 5 days in. It hasn’t expanded a bit yet, but from what I’ve gathered, I’m probably a week and a half +/- from that point. Hope this looks right, lol- sure looks about right through pictures.

I can see it now… “those clusters of holes aren’t bubbles that popped, they are maggots!” Hahaha


Yep, I still want to be a lure maker!

Cletus I see you are getting the gas surfacing due to the bubbles on the top. Something is happening. I see you have installed your gas vent, good boy.

I learned from the best! I sure hope that's a good thing that's happening, hahahaha... I'll report back as soon as it becomes evident, but I've never had maggots in something where there weren't several wiggling around on the top, hahaha

That batch is too early for fly larvae. Once it advances to the cream paste stage is when the odor release of the culture will pull the flies to come and lay. You will see them wiggling thru the top layer of culture if you get infected.

Bob, very well done! Great information. I hope this is saved in the archives.
No I do not want to be a commercial Lure Maker.....But I really enjoy learning about it and making some for my own use.
Your mixing bowl dumper is very intriguing!! A great piece of equipment for your needs.
When preserving the eggs are you able to just add the SB. powder directly to the eggs because of the good mixer you use?
This might help reduce water formation.
Would this be a good time to add a little antifreeze?

Mark whatever you add will affect the long-term consistency and odor of the batch. I can't tell you what to do with your batch, do some experimenting then see how it develops for you and your needs. Things don't always work out the way we think. I have had my share of wasted $$ and product in the beginning. If you want a runny product that can be done. If you want it to remain in a paste form, you need to calculate things to reach that goal.

Our mixer has various implements to use with it and variable speeds and an orbiting rotation system plus a built-in timer. Those details have all been worked out over the years. Anything we add gets blended in as it needs to be. You can't overdo it, or you can create too much trapped air inside your batch. That can be difficult to remove without some experience in dealing with that situation. Especially, if you need that batch done quickly for a specific reason.

Mine comes out a little thicker and darker

The longer it ages the darker and stronger in odor it becomes. There are reasons why we stay with the age/odor in our batch runs and have kept them that way for almost 50 years.

When you lose the fresh egg odor the reactions change. It also changes the natural egg color. That is not saying it is bad by no means.

It takes some practice to work batches consistently the same every time. Once our batches season after the final blending process they will thicken and hold that final condition for years as long as the container remains intact, and the lid is sealed. Knowing when to recognize in most cases that odor and color are related is key. This knowledge is a learned or taught skill.

Testing of the varying degrees of age of your product can reveal some interesting results. Aging more or less does make a difference. Size does matter pilgrims

Open air exposure or breaches to a batch of any product is detrimental over time and can surely cause problems in product quality.

Keeping your product sealed well is like keeping a band aide on a wound until it has healed with some skin closure, or it develops a scab. That protects it from invaders, flies/larvae, bacteria, airborne spores etc. Of course, many will learn this along the way.

Here is a knife full of a fully cured batch of cultured egg. Is it stiff enough for you? We can make it exactly the way you want it This if from a Sept. 2019 batch.

I keep a few buckets for comparisons over the years and quality control.

The beginning product is the difference in mine

Duck, Ostrich, peacock or Goose eggs?

Easter bunny. Lol can't share all my secrets but ur close

Egg Beaters with yellow dye.

Everybody knows the Easter Bunny doesn't lay eggs!!! HAHAHAHA

Jackalope????

I saw a picture on IG of a giant python caught in Florida. They removed a TON of eggs from it

Those cowboys come up with the strangest ideas. I can see that Mother Emu is looking for her eggs.

Limu Emu? Is that why my insurance is going up??? Liberty Biberty.

This is 18 eggs started on 7/1. They've been in a closet in an un-cooled loft. I haven't stirred them or done anything. Today was the first day I looked at them.

Those are looking good. You have some good head room to allow for expansion after you stir.

The air in there has to smell.

Our batches only smell like sweet egg, a buttery mayonnaise odor. The culture is very palatable. My dogs and cats would tear it up if I walked away without putting a lid back on. They all licked my utensils if they got a chance.

Hi Bob.

Do you add any preservative or just let them age in a controlled environment?

We have a formula blend that is used to hold the culture where it needs to stay until we need it.

I don't have all the details worked out. The last batch I worked up was looking great for several days and then about day 9 or 10 turned green. Not sure what happened there but something definitely went off track.

I may try adding some ham and see what turns up.

Same here Preacherman, my batch went south too after what seemed like a good start, rotted out on me. I’m wondering if a consistent temp has anything to do with it ? Will try that in the next batch

I just started 3 new samples trying out new methods to get the results and smell I want.

Duplication is important and I'm looking for 2 different products with a similar smell.

This is an attempt at fine tuning my process.

late to the party as usual, put 5 dozen in the jar Thursday night, put it in the basement. Time will tell!