The trickiest part of the trebuchet would be the release. Ask my friends, who accidentally put a watermelon through the roof of my old high school's equipment shed.
I would still consider something along the lines of a spring loaded catapult though. Calculations should be simple enough with the spring constants, and it may be easier to fine tune than using weights. An egg is a very strong little thing, and a properly designed "seat" should prevent any breakage. I think the problem with a cannon would be any shifting of the egg during acceleration, since its not perfectly round. It could bind up against the wall and be crushed before its being launched.
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