
Woman hatches ducks from Waitrose eggs - gscott
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-52838747
======
JdeBP
It's a little misleading to call them "Waitrose eggs". This brand is for sale
in Tesco and Morrison's as well, for starters. Someone else did the same stunt
of incubating and hatching this brand of duck egg bought from Sainsbury in
July of this year.

* [http://diazhub.com/australia/animal-lover-takes-home-2-60-bo...](http://diazhub.com/australia/animal-lover-takes-home-2-60-box-of-eggs-from-sainsburys-and-hatches-two-ducks-in-the-kitchen/)

And there was a teenage boy from Sutton Coldfield who did the same stunt back
in February 2019.

* [https://metro.co.uk/2019/02/19/teenage-boy-hatches-duck-egg-...](https://metro.co.uk/2019/02/19/teenage-boy-hatches-duck-egg-bought-waitrose-8669641/amp/)

~~~
mauvehaus
If you find that headline misleading, know that if this had happened in the
USA, it could have read “Woman hatches ducks from Giant Eagle eggs”

~~~
JdeBP
If you are in the USA you are possibly missing some of the subtle context
here. Waitrose has been a hot topic in the news this summer in the U.K., as it
has just finished a divorce from its erstwhile on-line delivery company Ocado.
This has resulted in a lot of "Waitrose" news. It has also resulted in things
such as quite close to attack advertisements running on Classic FM, reported
to me by a relative, both a shock to hear on the rather tame Classic FM and
quite close to the boundaries of the Advertising Standards Authority broadcast
code of practice.

* [https://bbc.co.uk/news/business-53971834](https://bbc.co.uk/news/business-53971834)

* [https://marketingweek.com/waitrose-marketing-campaign-ocado/](https://marketingweek.com/waitrose-marketing-campaign-ocado/)

* [https://asa.org.uk/type/broadcast/code_section/03.html](https://asa.org.uk/type/broadcast/code_section/03.html)

This was another not really "Waitrose" story. The brand here, common to all of
the stories, is Clarence Court, and it is sold in multiple supermarkets.
Notice that the story about Francesca Anker from Kenilworth didn't bother
quoting the supermarket _at all_ , unlike the BBC, and quoted M. Anker (who
had something to say on the subject of keeping drakes around in a free-range
farm, that would have informed commentary in this very discussion) and "a
Clarence Court spokesman". The _Daily Mail_ did a better job of reporting this
than the BBC.

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Per...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Reliable_sources/Perennial_sources#Daily_Mail)

Yes, that _Daily Mail_.

------
Supermancho
People hatch quail eggs, duck eggs, and chicken eggs from markets in every
state I've lived in, for fun or farm. Asian markets tend to be the best source
for fertilized, viable, eggs (eg 99 Ranch Market, H-mart, etc).

~~~
VBprogrammer
I'm no expert in chicken rearing but isn't it quite likely that the more "free
range" your eggs are raised the more chance of accidental having a fertalized
egg? Seems much less likely in caged hens (at significant harm to the chicken
of course).

~~~
user5994461
You should check the stamp on the egg. The first number is how the chicken was
raised. See
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_marking#Producer_code](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egg_marking#Producer_code)

Free range is not necessarily what a person would expect of free range. The
farm can pack 9 hens per square meter with some outdoor space available at
times.

~~~
markdown
> Free range is definitely not what a person would think of free range.

Yup, it's a scam. Deceptive marketing.

What people think of as free range they'll find if they buy "pastured eggs"
(in Australia at least).

~~~
user5994461
I've edited my message, the European standard is not that bad actually, 4
square meter per hen of external space.

Australian regulations seem to be a joke though.

~~~
scandinavegan
It's still misleading in Sweden, even though we're in the EU. Here it's called
"frigående" (free-walking, or free-range) which for hens just means that they
are not kept in small cages. The free-range version with access to the outdoor
is called "ecological" (16% of the hens).

When people buy eggs in Sweden from "free-walking" hens, they expect them to
be outdoors in the sun, but instead they are kept indoors with a maximum of 9
hens per square meter and up to 10.000 hens in a barn.

It's not easy to find an English description of this, so here are some Swedish
articles:

Wikipedia:

[https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frig%C3%A5ende_djur](https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frig%C3%A5ende_djur)

Swedish Egg, an organization from the egg industry:

[https://www.svenskaagg.se/?p=19891&m=3959](https://www.svenskaagg.se/?p=19891&m=3959)

Djurens Rätt, an animal rights group:

[https://www.djurensratt.se/djur-i-
livsmedelsindustrin/honor-...](https://www.djurensratt.se/djur-i-
livsmedelsindustrin/honor-och-tuppar)

~~~
takluyver
This is interesting. The EU regulations include a table with what each grade
can be called in different languages (p 24 of [https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSL...](https://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1991R1274:20020101:EN:PDF)).
The grade called 'barn' in English can be called 'frigående inne' (free
indoors) in Swedish. The English term 'free range' officially corresponds to
'frigående ute'.

In most of these languages, the term for barn eggs (hens indoors without
cages) seems to refer to ground, soil, or scratching. Swedish seems to be an
outlier in applying a word like 'free' to this grade.

~~~
HenryBemis
I assume that "free indoors" is like keeping them in a massive warehouse where
they can walk around, but with a other 9,999 animals around them. Technically
they can walk around, realistically they can't make half a step before bumping
to 10 other animals, and they poop all over, thus the needs for antibiotics.
The "out in the open" is not happening for most farms.

------
pampa
There is a video on youtube, where a farm threw away expired eggs and they
hatched in the dumpster.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFq-
qpkvbA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFq-qpkvbA)

~~~
abledon
> [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFq-
> qpkvbA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGFq-qpkvbA)

wild predators definitely had a good meal that week!

~~~
justinclift
Well, chickens will eat anything. So, the first few probably died of
starvation.

The last ones though, could have become pretty fat. ;)

------
ashildr
How can you demonstrate better that a product is in a healty and natural
condition?

~~~
bserge
It's more like they were raised in farms with one common space for the birds,
still extremely cramped with probably no grass or natural light but maybe
slightly better than battery cages.

~~~
barrkel
They'd like you to believe that the 130 farms they collect eggs from resemble
the one they videoed -
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9MZdfAUlXs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9MZdfAUlXs)
\- but it's hard to evidence objectively.

~~~
signal11
Clarence Court's eggs are pretty expensive compared to other brands --
obviously that's nothing to do with conditions but I can say all the ones I've
bought so far have been really, consistently good quality.

I'll be very disappointed if I find they're battery-farming too.

------
sradman
> 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.

I assumed that the issue was with the scale of duck farming; small independent
farmers do not have the scale to separate the male(s). If true, a rogue drake
is a more interesting scenario that can be considered an unintentional
experiment in (un)natural selection.

------
willvarfar
I know someone who went around with their kids, buying half a dozen eggs from
various different farm shops and stalls and supermarkets.

They wrote the date and shop on each egg and put them under their own chickens
as an experiment.

It surprised me just how many actually hatched!

A really fun project if you have your own chickens.

~~~
viraptor
I'm really surprised. I'm not a farm person in any way, and from what I
learned the male chickens are close to useless and most hens have never been
close to a male their entire life. It seems the separation is not that strict
though.

~~~
willvarfar
You don't need a rooster to make hens lay eggs. A normal hen lays an egg most
days, even without a rooster.

You do need a rooster if you want fertile eggs, though.

A normal backyard flock needs a rooster to get fertile eggs to raise to
perpetuate the flock. This is why backyard and small farm flocks usually have
one.

I can't think of anyone keeping chickens and not having a rooster, although I
live in the countryside where their cock-a-doodle-do is tolerated or even
loved. I'm guessing if you keep hens in suburbia you'd have to buy chicks
somewhere rather than have a rooster.

Big battery farms though? I have no idea if they have some barns with roosters
to perpetuate the flock or if they buy in chicks from specialized rooster
farms or something?...

~~~
viraptor
Most people that I know who keep chickens don't have a rooster, but share one
with others from time to time... or just don't bother. (these are people
keeping ~5 hens).

And yes, I realise how eggs work :)

------
anaon42
How is this news? The title made me think maybe the egg should have been of
something other than a duck hence the upset but no. DUCK EGG HATCHES DUCK
ain't nature wild?....

------
ChuckMcM
I am reminded of what an uncle of mine who raised chickens said, "It only
takes time and patience to feed a family of four on one egg."

Raising ducks though can be pretty challenging, especially if they imprint on
you and follow you around everywhere.

~~~
ImprobableTruth
>It only takes time and patience to feed a family of four on one egg.

... and enough feed for a family of four

------
globular-toast
> "There may also be instances when a wild duck encounters farmed drakes, but
> again, this is rare," he said.

Wait... drakes are the males. Surely he means a wild drake encountering farmed
ducks? Odd that a spokesman would get this wrong.

~~~
dejv
It works both ways, you can sometimes see weird colored ducks in flock of wild
ducks. These are most probably crossbreeds with domestic animals.

~~~
globular-toast
Yeah but those eggs aren't going to end up in a supermarket carton, are they?

I actually saw what I believe was a cross-bred duck the other week. It had the
green head of a mallard drake, but the body was black and white which I've
never seen before.

------
fastball
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wa_P-
tDNlE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wa_P-tDNlE)

------
yarrel
Eggs. How do they work?

------
greedo
Nature finds a way...

------
withinboredom
For those that don't know, you can tell a fertilized egg from a unfertilized
egg by looking closely at the yolk after breaking it open. A fertilized egg
has a red dot, while an unfertilized egg has a white dot.

Edit: after googling a bit looking for evidence. I discovered this is a
popular myth that I've known since childhood.

~~~
Reason077
This is a common myth, but it is false. The “red dot” is just a blood spot
that sometimes occurs as part of the egg formation process, not an indicator
of fertilisation!

[https://qz.com/431136/heres-why-your-brown-eggs-have-more-
bl...](https://qz.com/431136/heres-why-your-brown-eggs-have-more-blood-spots-
than-white-ones/)

It’s pretty much impossible for a commercially-produced hens egg to be
fertilised. Duck eggs are a bit different because they tend to be produced on
smaller farms, where they can come in to contact with wild ducks.

Edit: It’s also apparently much more difficult to tell male ducks apart from
female ones, compared to chickens. One article says the most reliable method
is to “listen to the sound of their quacks”!

~~~
arghwhat
It is _usually_ very easy to tell drakes and ducks apart due to the very
colorful plumage of males in many species of duck.

The problem being that drakes shed feathers a few times a year, and the drakes
wear the same feathers as the ducks for at least some of the year. However,
this is usually outside the mating season, and shouldn't really be a problem.

~~~
pvaldes
The ducks in the photo belong to a entirely white breed. Those are much
difficult to sex with only a solid difference in morphology: the curly
feathers over the tail are exclusive of the male.

------
theginger
I don't know much about eggs or birds, but I've always been told birds are
meant to keep their eggs warm. Seems like trying to hatch eggs that have been
in on a shelf for an unknown amount of time could carry a real risk of some
tragically deformed pets.

~~~
ucosty
Ducks have a system for this -- they lay an egg a day but won't start
incubating them until they have laid their full clutch. The eggs won't start
developing until the bird starts incubating them, and they can remain in this
state for quite a while especially if kept cold.

~~~
carc1n0gen
Yup. Worked on a turkey egg (for hatching) farm. The eggs were kept cold until
they reach the hatchery for the same reason.

