Mandy Clayton, 49, said she had bought a dozen quails’ eggs for a barbeque, and had four left over. She put them into an incubator to see what would happen, according to media reports.
“I know they were free range eggs, but I didn’t really expect one to hatch,” she added. “It was in there 16 days in all.”
Bought four more
Clayton named the bird Rose – after the Caterham, Surrey branch she bought the eggs from – and has since bought four more quails to keep it company.
“Rose was tiny when she first hatched out but soon she grew feathers and now she's about the size of a robin,” she said. “My 11-year-old daughter enjoys playing with her. Rose is happy running around on the floor at times.
“We’ve got a tiny little flock of them now, which is great. It just goes to show how fresh the eggs were, really.”
She has since tried incubating a further 12 eggs, but none have hatched.