In today’s hard-to-believe news, a teenage boy has helped hatch a live duckling from a supermarket egg.
William Atkins, 14, bought the eggs from Waitrose and placed them under an incubator in his bedroom to see if it was possible to hatch a duckling.
Approximately one month (28 days) after buying the box of six Gladys-May’s Braddock Whites free-range duck eggs, an adorable baby duckling hatched, the Mail Online reported.
“The duckling is absolutely adorable and already making little quacking noises,” Atkins said. “I am amazed a supermarket egg has actually hatched. But also really excited.”
Atkins, from Sutton Coldfield, is something of a wildlife enthusiast, so he placed the eggs under an incubator which he’d purchased off eBay. Three days later he shined a torch onto the shells and was shocked to see a beating heart.
The duckling grew day by day until it finally pecked its way out of the shell.
The 14-year-old said the idea came about after he discussed with family members whether it would be possible to hatch a supermarket egg, as they are not supposed to be fertilised. He tried quail’s eggs first, followed by hens’ eggs and duck eggs.
The teen said when the duckling is a bit bigger, it will go to live at a local farm where there is a pond and other ducks, and Atkins will be able to visit.
A spokesperson for Clarence Court, which sells the eggs, said there was a “remarkably slim” chance of hatching a duckling from eggs – yet clearly it’s not impossible.