I've never heard the German phrase before; is it idiomatic?

I suppose one could say "Lay the egg first, then you can cackle about it."

Mir ist der Spruch so auch noch nicht begegnet ... aber es gibt eine ältere Diskussion dazu : related discussion: gackern und kein Ei legen

zur Nutzung im geschäftlichen Umfeld.  

Makes me think it means "Clinch the deal first, then you can crow about it." e.g.
Michael should let us know the context.

Hier geht allerdings das Bildhafte Ei verloren:

Noise proves nothing

Zur deutschen Redensart:

"Wer gackert, muß auch ein Ei legen (ugs.): wer etwas andeutet, ankündigt, soll sich dann auch erklären, etwas vorweisen: Wer ist eine einzige Enttäuschung für dich? Na los, wer gackert, muß auch ein Ei legen!"
(Duden-Band 11, Redewendungen und sprichwörtliche Redensarten, 1. Aufl. 1992)

Here is the comment and context: It is all about somebody who is big in announcements but never does it in the end. So I would say to him: You should "first lay an egg and then cackle about it".

Thanks for the hint to the older discussion but it did "not hit the nail on the head" yet.

"Clinch the deal first then crow about it" is quite close to what I was looking for. Maybe there is something more idiomatic still.

I think I take your suggestion @mikefm. Thanks to all of you for your considerations and help.

AE here.. another very common expression with the same meaning, but not about eggs is:

The proof is in the pudding.
I have no idea where this comes from, but it's used a lot. Here's an example.

"I can get you a great deal on a new Mercedes. Half of the market price, actually."

"You can go on about fantastic deals all you want, but the proof is in the pudding, my friend."

Not quite the same meaning: "The proof of the pudding" is an appeal to try first yourself before judging a thing; "wer gackert, muss auch" is demanding a justification of a given judgement about other people.

deeds not words

cf. facta non verba

A common AE saying would be "actions speak louder than words," but of course it omits the egg laying and cackling parts.

I was surprised to find that some sites containing lists of idioms about chickens include this one:

Don’t cackle if you haven’t laid - don't complain if you haven't finished your part of the effort

http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-chic...

Never heard it before, but it's not hard to understand. It has a slightly different time sequence than that given in #0 or cited from Duden (#5) but the gist is similar.


and don't forget Mark Twain's addendum to the idiom in #12:
“Actions speak louder than words, but not nearly as often.”

... if you haven't laid. Maybe the reason it's not used much these days is because of the obvious potential for sexual innuendo?

Like "If you have laid, don't cackle about it."? ;-)

More like "if you got laid, don't cackle about it." Or maybe in the OP's case: "don't cackle if you haven't gotten laid." :-)

Anyway, don't be chicken about it. :-)

Klingt nach einer "chicken and egg situation" ... ;)

Probably neither British English nor appropriate for the workplace (as requested in #0), but this idiom captures the idea that you shouldn't run off at the mouth if you can't deliver on the boasts:

Your mouth shouldn't write checks that your ass can't cash.

Like in poker.

Would be a somewhat ruder version in AE.

Die deutsche Redewendung ist mir nur in der Form "Man soll nicht über ungelegte Eier gackern" bekannt. Das lässt zumindest offen, wer das Ei legt. Menschen direkt zum Eierlegen aufzufordern, kommt mir doch etwas skurril vor :-)