Aldi the chick the new star on Hollydell croft

A CROFTER from Nesting is still smiling after an ‘eggs-traordinary’ breeding success resulted in a chick hatching from an egg bought at an Aldi supermarket in Hampshire a month ago.

Stacey Rendall said she had heard on social media that people elsewhere had successfully hatched chicks from supermarket eggs and thought she would try it herself.

So she asked her aunt to buy her a packet of eggs from her local Aldi in Hampshire and to send them north to Shetland – a journey of around 800 miles.

After three weeks in an incubator one of the six eggs hatched and, judging by the photo Stacey took, the little fluffy chick emerging from the broken shell was perhaps as surprised as she was.

“It is quite funny actually,” she said on Monday, “especially since we were buying live eggs from a breeder and had not hatched anything, yet we got eggs from a supermarket and hatched a chick.”

Inevitably named Aldi, the little creature will take up a special place on a croft that is better known for its pony breeding.

“We have got about 20 little bantam running around as well as a few ducks, and the chick will just go and join them,” Stacey said.

”If it is a hen we will use the eggs, and if it is a cockerel it will be kept for life’s pleasure.”

Aldi has been contacted for comment.