Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/chicken-hatches-duck-egg/
During the pandemic in April, Vermont couple Caleb and Courtney Sugarman decided to keep themselves busy by getting a few ducks. Then, a few months later, they were gifted Silkie chickens from one of their friends.
As they explained to the Vermont TV station WCAX, they were very surprised one day when they discovered that one of their chickens was sitting on top of a duck egg.
Both Caleb and Courtney were surprised with how the chicken got a hold of the duck egg, but they figured that they would “just kind of let her be.”
By letting the chicken do her thing, she ended up hatching the duck egg.
According to WCAX, the Sugarmans shared that the chicken laid a half dozen of her own eggs a few weeks prior to Christmas. In order to keep track of all of them, the couple put numbers on the eggs.
During that time, a few of the eggs hatched, including the duck egg.
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Courtney was surprised to see that the duck egg actually hatched, and recalled how she watched in awe as the little duckbill was peaking through its shell.
Kristin Haas, a Vermont veterinarian, was just as surprised as the couple. She shared with the oulet, “It’s a great surprise story. It takes a little longer for duck eggs to hatch, about a week longer than chicken eggs. As long as they’re warm and in good shape, then I suppose it’s possible that it could hatch.”
The Sugarmans are currently keeping the mismatched family inside their home in order for the birds to stay warm.
Unsurprisingly, the little duck thinks that it’s one of the chicks.
As Caleb pointed out to the outlet, the duckling likes to partake in a friendly game of football with peas inside the pen. The little duckling is just a few weeks old, so it will be staying inside the indoor pen until it’s old enough to join the other ducks outside.
As Caleb shared, the duckling is well adapted to the chickens, so it will be interesting to see how it gets along with the ducks. He said, “We’re interested to see what happens.”
All images were used with permission by the owner Courtney Sugarman.
Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog
