Woman Hatches Ducklings From A Pack Of Waitrose Eggs

A woman from Hertfordshire has hatched three ducklings from a pack of eggs she bought at Waitrose.

Charli Lello, 29, welcomed three adorable new family members - Beep, Peep and Meep - after incubating a pack of Clarence Court eggs she bought at the supermarket.

Yep, our minds are completely blown.

It turns out fertilised eggs are completely safe to eat and indistinguishable from unfertilised eggs, a Waitrose spokesperson explained to the BBC.

Unless they are incubated, that is - which is exactly what Charli decided to do after picking up a pack from her local store.

Charli Lello)

She told Tyla: "I saw a video on Facebook of someone hatching quail eggs they bought from a supermarket and while I was in Waitrose I saw the duck eggs and thought maybe they would work too.

"I decided to incubate them and a month later Beep started to hatch and then the other two followed during the week after."

Charli Lello)

Charli said she decided to hatch the ducklings after being furloughed due to the coronavirus pandemic, meaning she has had the time to raise them, but explained under normal circumstances it wouldn't have been possible, or fair.

"They are currently living inside but will be moving outside to live with the chickens when all their feathers have grown in," she added.

Speaking to the BBC about how the eggs could have been fertilised, the Waitrose spokesperson explained due to difficulties in identifying the sex of a white-feathered duck, a male may occasionally be left with a group of females - although this is very rare.

Waitrose)

They said: "Our farmers work hard to ensure ducks and drakes are separated correctly. As a result of this difficulty in sexing, a male white-feathered duck may very occasionally be left with a group of females, although, these instances are extremely rare.

"There may also be instances when a wild duck encounters farmed drakes, but again, this is rare."

Charli Lello)

A spokeswoman for Clarence Court Farms, meanwhile, added: "It is a feat of remarkably slim odds that a duckling has been hatched. But we acknowledge that it's not impossible."

We can't get over how cute and fluffy these little guys are!

Topics: Life News, Cute, Animals

Lucy Devine

Lucy is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, she has worked in both print and online and is particularly interested in fashion, food, health and women's issues. Northerner, coffee addict, says hun a lot. Get in touch at [email protected].

@lucedevine