Balut is a fertilized duck egg that is meant for the dinner table. One lady had other ideas and she ended up with a feathered friend for life. There are plenty of animal stories that will melt your heart, and this one is sure to not disappoint you.
Balut is a traditional street food from the Philippines and southeast Asian countries. It is a boiled or steamed duck egg that is cracked open and eaten straight from the shell. The egg is a fertilized one that has been incubated for a couple of weeks, so it usually contains a duck fetus. Not everyone eats these though, and one lady, Erica Lim, decided to incubate the balut she bought from a Vietnamese stall in Kuala Lumpur.
Lim, 39, works as an insurance agent and lives in the heart of Kuala Lumpur. With a makeshift incubator made from a styrofoam box and a heat lamp, she carefully placed the egg inside and waited patiently for two weeks—and lo and behold—Daisy emerged from the egg!
That was two years ago, and now Daisy (nicknamed Bibit) and Lim spend all their spare time together. Once you raise a duck you become their family, as they are pack animals. She won’t be happy if you confine her to the outside most of the time!
Not only are they the best of friends, but Daisy has also rewarded Lim for saving her life by providing (you guessed it)—duck eggs. “She lays one egg every 25 hours. So, I now have an unlimited supply of eggs, many of which are double-yolked,” quipped Lim. There is no shortage of snacks in this house! I’ve made lots of salted duck eggs that I share with friends and family,” said Lim.
As a duck can live for 20 years, they can make gentle and interesting pets—as long as they have access to the outdoors and a pond or pool. They are very cute, and can be wildly entertaining.
“She loves water and often sneaks into the bathroom to splash around in a tub. If I leave a jug of water on the coffee table, she will get into it in no time at all,” said Lim.
Ducks can be very social creatures, and Daisy just loves to snuggle up with Lim in front of the TV and watch a show.
“She is a city duck, so she knows how to enjoy city life, just like other ordinary city folk,” added Lim.
“She is a very cute buddy who loves to keep me company and follows me wherever I go. She also gets along well with my old dog. Bibit and Feipo are the best of friends,” said Lim.
You could say this is one lucky duck! If you are thinking about having a duck as a pet, it is best to bring it up from a duckling, and focus on the larger domestic breeds rather than wild ducks, as the big domestic ones don’t fly! Just remember, if you want to interact with your duck inside your house, you will need to use duck diapers, as ducks can be messy and impossible to toilet train. Watch out for that nice carpet you just installed.
