Hundreds of ducklings hatched unexpectedly at a warehouse in Brea

It started with a frantic call to the Duck Sanctuary in Winchester. A woman in Brea on Saturday was overwhelmed by hundreds of ducklings that were about to hatch unexpectedly and she needed help.

How? Why?

Rescuers soon found out. The woman was a supplier of the Filipino delicacy balut — a fertilized egg eaten around 10 days before it hatches.

On Facebook, the Duck Sanctuary said the practice of eating balut "is one of the worst things" they had heard of.

But Richard “Reach” Guinto, managing editor of Foodbeast and of Filipino descent, said balut was introduced by the Chinese to the Philippines other Southeast Asian countries in the 16th century. And given the lack of refrigeration at the time, balut was a way to increase the shelf life of eggs.

How the rescue unfolded

On July 17, Howard Berkowitz, founder and CEO of the Duck Sanctuary, received a call from a woman who told him she had between 200 to 600 duck eggs that were about to hatch. The woman, he said, was a balut dealer and because of a shipping delay, she was unable to supply them to restaurants that had gone elsewhere to fulfill their orders.

Berkowitz met her at a Brea warehouse on Saturday morning to pick up the eggs. When he arrived, 350 ducks had hatched and 48 were in the process of hatching. Berkowitz then met volunteers at a nearby Walmart parking lot, where they began triaging the birds.

“We found out right then that she hadn't given them any water or food for the entire three days that they were hatching,” he said.

Some ended up dying during the rescue effort, but 120 hatchlings are currently alive at the sanctuary.

The cultural significance of balut

Guinto said balut plays a significant role in the Philippines and that the industry is a major contributor to the country’s economy and the creation of jobs. He added that “it’s a cheap and affordable street food for many people who can't afford anything beyond just street food.”

Guinto described having balut for the first time a few years ago as tasting like a “very rich, concentrated chicken soup.” Growing up, he recalled uncles challenging children to eat balut, almost as a rite of passage.

“Balut is, for many people who are here in the states, it's kind of like getting in touch with their Filipino roots,” Guinto said. “It kind of serves as a rite of passage in terms of gaining your cultural identity.”