Dealing With Cuckoo Dragon Eggs

Question

There are many species of dragon, but the cuckoo dragon is the worst of all. You see, when normal dragons reproduce, they expend life force to create new life. The most powerful dragon species expend half of their life force in order to reproduce, resulting in only one dragon egg per mating pair. (Don't worry, life force can be regenerated, at least for dragons, as long as they aren't dead.) However, typical dragons expend only a mere spark of their essence, which goes into a sex cell and creates a new dragon egg through regular reproductive processes.

The first method creates one very powerful hatchling, while the second results in a large clutch of relatively inferior hatchlings. However, cuckoo dragons have a method superior to both. They lay large clutches of 40 to 96 eggs, scattering them for miles around, but they don't expend large amounts of mana to do so.

The secret lies in the fact cuckoo dragons are capable of parthenogenesis and put Void magic into each and every one of their eggs, right alongside a spark of life. You see, there are two principles that guide magic's distribution: balance and attraction, and cuckoo dragon eggs take advantage of attraction. Simply put, the principle of attraction is simple: magic is attracted to magic of its own kind. This and the balance principle ("Magic seeks balance, so it moves from areas of high concentration to areas of low concentration") allows the egg to come to life.

But, how does this work? Life is miraculous and therefore magical, thus life force is a form of magic. The spark of life inside a cuckoo dragon egg thus attracts life force, but natural bodily mechanisms prevent the egg from drawing life force from another being's body unless they're touching. Fortunately enough, the attraction principles draws living creatures to the egg, so sooner than later something will touch the egg, 2/3 of its life force will transfer into said egg (leaving the "parent" weak and feeling quite sick unless and until it recovers), and the egg will hatch.

Why is this a problem? Cuckoo dragons and their children are creatures of chaos and destruction, thus every five years (because cuckoo dragons lay eggs every five years) an awful lot of dragons are born and wreak havoc on the kingdom. Here's how bad it is:

1. Every five years, four cuckoo dragons fly over the kingdom, dropping their eggs like bombs.

2. Cuckoo dragon eggs are almost indestructible and attract creatures with a magical beacon; the beacon first affects the most dangerous, annoying, and/or crazy creatures around, those the egg will most attract, and the first creature to touch the egg determines what it hatches into. This something cannot be an arthropod unless it is of the fantastical giant variety; a conventional giant arthropod can't do it.

3. The nature, capabilities, and behavior of the dragon that hatches from a cuckoo dragon egg is determined by whatever touched it. If a knight were to touch a cuckoo dragon egg (not with gauntlets on, there must be skin contact, or at least fur or feather contact), the result would be an honorable Cavalier Dragon, with all the skills and training of its "parent" human, along with a similar nature.

The trouble is, since cuckoo dragon eggs alert the most dangerous, obnoxious, or just plain insane creatures around it before the average joe, which comes way before any honorable knight or agent of the king. Heck, an honorable agent of the king, anyone who could be trusted with a cuckoo hatchling, would find themselves beaten time after time by unsupervised children! Thus, my question is What Is The Best Way For a Medieval Government To Deal With Cuckoo Dragon Eggs?

Clarification:

1. The cuckoo dragons can be killed, but the result is always a bunch of new dragons (see this if you want to know why) and they are promptly replaced. Attempts to hunt them down always end in failure, ruin, and odd and inconvenient incidents like the kingdom becoming unable to yield any crop besides potatoes for seven years.

2. One cannot destroy a cuckoo dragon egg without risking insanity, split personality disorder, or horrific mutations. Even if one did not destroy the egg directly, if they are the one responsible for whatever destroyed the egg (like, say, a boulder dropping on said egg), they will still be at risk.

3. You cannot touch a cuckoo dragon egg without an inorganic buffer like metal gauntlets, or else the egg will hatch. The resulting dragon is dependent on whatever touched it first, and they hatch instantly (and explosively) after being touched. (Ex: Elf touches a cuckoo dragon egg=Ranger Dragon hatches out). Said explosion is not lethal, but it is loud, blinding, and will send everyone around it flying backward.

4. A dragon hatched from a cuckoo dragon egg will generally be a draconic version of whatever touched it, and thanks to MTGM (Magically Transferred Genetic Memory), are about as capable and intelligent as their “parent” would be in dragon form. The nature, abilities, and knowledge of said dragon are determined by whatever touched them. Because of this, cuckoo dragon eggs tend to create terrifying monsters, as they are usually hatched by dangerous animals, maniacs and/or knaves (like highwaymen), or straight-up monsters like giant spiders and trolls.

Answer 1

Containment

If this "problem" isn't contained, you have a standard "big dangerous fantasy creature" problem (which happens to come in dragon-shape). So I'll focus on answers which deal with your specific "cuckoo" scenario.

Smashing: Send out a well-wrapped victim to smash it, with the understanding that they're not going to survive anyway. Hide behind some earthworks and riddle them with arrows before insanity sets in.

Hatching: Alternatively, send your loyal hound to touch the egg, and you've just created a fabulous pet. Send someone congenitally ill, and it may be crippled enough to capture. Send something placid, and it can be used as an ox might be.

---

Hunting

You'd almost ruled this out in your question due to "consequences", but it could still be worth it when one slips through the net for the containment stage. This would be the high-risk, high-payoff method, but exactly how rewarding would depend on the properties of the resulting hybrid. This would work by exploiting the loot-table reproduction mentioned in your linked question, and these words from your post:

[...] the result would be an honorable Cavalier Dragon, with all the skills and training of its "parent" human, along with a similar nature.

You'll need the right kind of dragonslayer. Namely, a trustworthy, competent, and loyal one, who will touch exactly one dropped egg and safeguard the rest. The so-hatched creature will be the dragonslayer's draconic double (as I read the question), and be able to keep the rest of the eggs safe on their way to being hatched as highly sought mounts, pets, or companions. Or living libraries, to pass on skills.

The problem with this is that your population would be runaway, and your human population would be outcompeted.

Answer 2

Have a thriving economy

Whomever is in charge needs to ensure that the realm attracts talent. Taverns are where adventures meet, and treasure is what motivates them.

As long as monsters are worth experience and gold, there will be player character groups specialized in killing them. Adventurers are even known for min-max'ing their skill in order to better slay monsters.