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Proverbs are often inaccurate. There’s an old saying that idle hands are the devil’s tool. This story will prove to you the complete opposite. After being furloughed due to the pandemic, Charli Lello decided she’d do something with her spare time. She bought 6 free-ranging duck eggs from Waitrose and set up an incubator to try and hatch them.
Ms Lello, who normally works as an assistant manager, got inspired by a video of Youtuber who hatched a Quail egg. She wanted to try that as well. “We have chickens so it wouldn’t have been much of a stretch,” said the animal-loving 29-year-old to Bored Panda.
More info: Instagram
Beep was the first one to hatch
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
“While I was in Waitrose, I saw the duck eggs and thought maybe they would work as well. I was so excited for them to hatch but I still had in the back of my mind that these are supermarket eggs.” Now, what were the odds she was up against? It’s usually very rare that ducks hatch from market eggs.
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
“They have been collected, bashed around on a delivery truck, then rattled around on a trolley onto a shelf, picked up and put down by who knows how many people, so they still might not go all the way,” she told BBC. Yet there’s always a slim chance that male ducks can slip-by unnoticed while they all free-range. Waitrose spokesperson even commented after the story, that it’s extremely difficult to identify white male ducks. However, fertile eggs are indistinguishable from non-fertile, so it was all up to chance.
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Then came Peep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
But Charli bided her time and turned the eggs in the incubator 3 times a day. It’s a miracle that out of the 6 eggs, 50% of them hatched. Out of the Waitrose box first came Beep, then Peep, then Meep, who’s clearly the youngest of the three. Aren’t those names just lovely? These chicks are all less than a month old, so they’ll change quite dramatically soon enough.
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Meep hatched just a little behind the first two
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Beep and Peep hanging with Arfur, the free-ranging Netherland Dwarf bunny
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
In case you were wondering about the species of the ducks, they’re Braddock Whites—it says so on the box they came from. They haven’t fully matured from their chickdom yet, but the eldest, Beep, has already started developing white feathers. Charli said she’s going to wait for them to fully feather before she moves them out to live “a very happy life” outside with her chickens when they grow up. The story “just hatched,” as it were, and it goes on, so we suggest following Beep’s, Peep’s, and Meep’s further exciting developments on their Instagram!
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Three little ducklings together
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
They’re growing up so fast
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Beep is developing his white feathers
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
Image credits: beeppeepmeep
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What do you think ?
Dave P 4 years ago
I smell a load of BS, Supermarket Eggs are never fertilized (if you find blood in them, 1 in 1million, it isnt 't a fertilized one like the old days, rather it has to do with the health of the bird). Even if they are "free range" the same separation principals apply, and in the rare case one does get fertilized they still dont make it off of the production line into circulation. They check ever egg under a light lamp which makes the egg translucent which means you can see right through to double check. Lastly the way the eggs are stored before shipping would kill any if they were fertilized if somehow it got through all of these steps above. I am sorry this story is BS and fake, she got hatchery eggs and swapped them with the grocery eggs for her stunt to get attention. BS and Fake
Zophra 4 years ago
This whole thing is fake. You do not get fertilized eggs from the grocery store. Me thinks the lady wants attention - also judging from how many pictures she's in.
thegreatesttincan 4 years ago
I did some research, there's only evidence than she incubated the eggs, not actually got them from the farm. A lot of people were pointing out things about how this was all fake, or just something to get attention on media. If you really want live chicks, go get some healthy and fertilized ones!
TheExtremeSmell 4 years ago
I read another article on it and the company responded and said it’s possible. I guess duck eggs aren’t mass produced like chicken eggs.
Load More Replies...
Fred and George Weasley 4 years ago
the ducks are cute but the scenario doesnt make sense. theyre not going to have ducklings/chicks in supermarket eggs.
Bunzilla 4 years ago
So, All the comments are saying this is fake! Part of me wanted this to be a wholesome tale about three adorable baby ducks, and then another part of me was like. . .sUpErMaRkEt EgGs!!!!! how can supermarket eggs hatch ducks! I'm sad a little that this is, as Zophra says, probably just an attention grab, but to be honest. . .I'd be sadder if it were real.
Mandy Willson 4 years ago
It's real believe me. I know charli and she was as surprised as everyone else When they were fertile and DID hatch!
Load More Replies...
Simon Orme 4 years ago
Its been done many times before nothing new here,I've just hatched quail eggs,out of 12 we got 3 chicks,7 eggs though had developing chicks that died .
Tracey Hirt 4 years ago (edited)
HUGE load of BS. Even if she somehow got fertilized eggs form the store (a near impossibility), they would have been kept way too cold, and anything inside would have died very shortly. This is not cryogenics. You cannot put a viable egg into a cold environment and expect it to come back to life.
AC Hulslander 4 years ago
Let's assume that this is in Europe where it isn't common practice to refrigerate eggs but rather leave them on the counter. So they haven't gotten cold in a fridge. But still... Eggs need to be kept warm from the mama to be viable. I would think even from farm to supermarket they would be cooled off for too long to be viable?? I have a very hard time believing any of this but wonder about the odds of hatching them when they haven't gotten cold. And a 50% success rate at that..?
Load More Replies...
Monika Rhodes 4 years ago
'“They have been collected, bashed around on a delivery truck, then rattled around on a trolley onto a shelf, picked up and put down by who knows how many people, so they still might not go all the way,” she told BBC'- I'm out. This is all bs and she got bored for 5 mins of fame. Funny tho.
Nick Nickson 4 years ago
All EXPERTS IN COMMETS don't think, that there is possibility for some misstake in egg delivery, because people make misstakes, but ducks don't?
Mandy Willson 4 years ago
Seriously....what lovely people you all are!! I've known charli for many years and watched this whole process unfold. It is not bs as all you experts state. She bought the eggs from the supermarket after seeing someone had done similar with quails eggs, and hatched them. She didn't really expect them to hatch at all, but they did! She is the complete opposite of an attention seeker actually. But none of you would know that, as you do not know her! Such a shame when there's a good genuine story out there, that everyone has to think up negative comments . Obviously none of you see the good things in the world, only the bad.... no wonder the world is in such a state.
Dave P 4 years ago
I smell a load of BS, Supermarket Eggs are never fertilized (if you find blood in them, 1 in 1million, it isnt 't a fertilized one like the old days, rather it has to do with the health of the bird). Even if they are "free range" the same separation principals apply, and in the rare case one does get fertilized they still dont make it off of the production line into circulation. They check ever egg under a light lamp which makes the egg translucent which means you can see right through to double check. Lastly the way the eggs are stored before shipping would kill any if they were fertilized if somehow it got through all of these steps above. I am sorry this story is BS and fake, she got hatchery eggs and swapped them with the grocery eggs for her stunt to get attention. BS and Fake
Zophra 4 years ago
This whole thing is fake. You do not get fertilized eggs from the grocery store. Me thinks the lady wants attention - also judging from how many pictures she's in.
thegreatesttincan 4 years ago
I did some research, there's only evidence than she incubated the eggs, not actually got them from the farm. A lot of people were pointing out things about how this was all fake, or just something to get attention on media. If you really want live chicks, go get some healthy and fertilized ones!
TheExtremeSmell 4 years ago
I read another article on it and the company responded and said it’s possible. I guess duck eggs aren’t mass produced like chicken eggs.
Load More Replies... Fred and George Weasley 4 years ago
the ducks are cute but the scenario doesnt make sense. theyre not going to have ducklings/chicks in supermarket eggs.
Bunzilla 4 years ago
So, All the comments are saying this is fake! Part of me wanted this to be a wholesome tale about three adorable baby ducks, and then another part of me was like. . .sUpErMaRkEt EgGs!!!!! how can supermarket eggs hatch ducks! I'm sad a little that this is, as Zophra says, probably just an attention grab, but to be honest. . .I'd be sadder if it were real.
Mandy Willson 4 years ago
It's real believe me. I know charli and she was as surprised as everyone else When they were fertile and DID hatch!
Load More Replies... Simon Orme 4 years ago
Its been done many times before nothing new here,I've just hatched quail eggs,out of 12 we got 3 chicks,7 eggs though had developing chicks that died .
Tracey Hirt 4 years ago (edited)
HUGE load of BS. Even if she somehow got fertilized eggs form the store (a near impossibility), they would have been kept way too cold, and anything inside would have died very shortly. This is not cryogenics. You cannot put a viable egg into a cold environment and expect it to come back to life.
AC Hulslander 4 years ago
Let's assume that this is in Europe where it isn't common practice to refrigerate eggs but rather leave them on the counter. So they haven't gotten cold in a fridge. But still... Eggs need to be kept warm from the mama to be viable. I would think even from farm to supermarket they would be cooled off for too long to be viable?? I have a very hard time believing any of this but wonder about the odds of hatching them when they haven't gotten cold. And a 50% success rate at that..?
Load More Replies... Monika Rhodes 4 years ago
'“They have been collected, bashed around on a delivery truck, then rattled around on a trolley onto a shelf, picked up and put down by who knows how many people, so they still might not go all the way,” she told BBC'- I'm out. This is all bs and she got bored for 5 mins of fame. Funny tho.
Nick Nickson 4 years ago
All EXPERTS IN COMMETS don't think, that there is possibility for some misstake in egg delivery, because people make misstakes, but ducks don't?
Mandy Willson 4 years ago
Seriously....what lovely people you all are!! I've known charli for many years and watched this whole process unfold. It is not bs as all you experts state. She bought the eggs from the supermarket after seeing someone had done similar with quails eggs, and hatched them. She didn't really expect them to hatch at all, but they did! She is the complete opposite of an attention seeker actually. But none of you would know that, as you do not know her! Such a shame when there's a good genuine story out there, that everyone has to think up negative comments . Obviously none of you see the good things in the world, only the bad.... no wonder the world is in such a state.
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