Quail hatches from supermarket egg after man incubates box

Man who incubated a box of twelve supermarket quail eggs for a month was stunned to discover that one actually hatched.

Adorable Albert the quail was bought at a supermarket in Haarlem, Netherlands, by Alwyn Wils, 45.

After bringing it home, Alwyn placed all the eggs in an incubator and began filming their progress, hoping one was fertilised and would hatch.

And to his amazement, less than a month later, one of the eggs hatched.

Alwyn was inspired to buy the box and incubate the eggs after reading online that it is nearly impossible for store-bought eggs to hatch - due to their lack of fertilisation.

Alwyn said: “Albert is a one in a million.

“To get a fertilised egg one obviously needs both a male and female. Since the male birds don’t produce any eggs and the females lay her unfertilised eggs without the need for a male, eggs are rarely fertilised when they get to the supermarkets.

“On the internet it says everywhere that supermarket eggs are not fertilised, but I thought let’s see if that’s really the case.

“I incubated all 12 eggs in the box, which I got from a supermarket in Haarlem, and only one - Albert - hatched.

“Friends and family think Albert is very cool and they think it’s great way of thinking - that not everything is impossible if you give it a try sometimes.”

Alwyn has now set up a Youtube channel named A Chick Called Albert, after his new feathered friend.

And Albert has already become a viral sensation in The Netherlands, with the adorable bird featuring on prime time TV.

Alwyn added: “He is so tame that he is becoming a real house friend.

“I know it is a bit soft, but in the end it is just nice to get stories out there that create some beauty and bring a little smile to peoples faces.”