Crowfield emus' dating woes leaves glut of 14 unfertilised eggs

A farm has been left with more than a dozen emu eggs after a failed romance between their birds meant none of them had been fertilised.

Dexy the male emu was seemingly unimpressed romantically after he failed to fertilise any of the 14 eggs laid by his companion Eyeleen, at Cloverfield Farm in Crowfield, Suffolk, in recent weeks.

Farm co-owner Jo Saberton said Dexy had been good at helping incubate the eggs, but he perhaps did not "fancy Eyeleen enough" as no chicks emerged.

The unfertilised eggs, each equivalent to about 12 chicken eggs in volume and weight, can instead be eaten and Saberton said one could be scrambled to feed four people.

The farm bought Eyeleen four years ago and decided to bring in Dexy shortly afterwards for some company.

Eyeleen got her name after losing one of her eyes, and Dexy was named after Dexys Midnight Runners - the band behind the song Come On Eileen.

In the UK emus typically lay their eggs during the winter and it is the job of the males to incubate them.

"They get on OK, but I'm not quite sure we're ever going to have the patter of little emu feet," Saberton said.

She added: "I think he's just very young, maybe he doesn't fancy Eyeleen enough."

Saberton's husband Nick, who she runs the farm with, said perhaps it was Eyeleen's one eye that had caused Dexy to be "a bit more fussy", despite her "long legs".

Initially, they had stepped in and taken some of the eggs away to be placed in an incubator, but still no chicks arrived, making the farm owners believe Dexy had been able to fertilise them.

While the farm did nothing with the 28 emu eggs last year, Saberton said they were keen not to waste them this year.

Their grandsons had experimented with using one for boiled egg and soldiers, and it took 35 minutes to boil it.

"They gave it the thumbs up and then a friend of mine scrambled it and she sent me a picture," Saberton continued.

"We're probably going to try it [ourselves] now.

"They do look so lovely, you don't really want to break them because they look like an ornament."

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