Hatch of the day! Couple save an abandoned duck egg with a makeshift incubator inside their oven

Hatch of the day! Couple put rescued egg in the oven and out pops a duckling

  • Will Hall, 26, and Alice Kendall, 22, discovered the orphan egg near their home
  • The couple from Winchester, Hampshire, used their oven as an incubator
  • It hatched after two hours and the couple are debating what to name the duck 

There once was an unhatched duckling, forlorn in its egg on the ground.

But fortunately, the little orphan was stumbled upon by Will Hall during an afternoon stroll near his home – where it was later hatched in an oven.

Mr Hall, 26, decided to take the abandoned egg home with him after struggling to find its nest in the grass. 

He rang his partner Alice Kendall, 22, who quick as a flash preheated the oven and set up a makeshift incubator by placing a tea towel on a baking tray ready for their arrival.

Will Hall, 26, and Alice Kendall, 22, from Winchester, Hampshire, discovered an abandoned duckling egg and hatched it in their oven

The little orphan was stumbled upon by Will Hall during an afternoon stroll near his home

His partner Alice preheated the oven and set up a makeshift incubator by placing a tea towel on a baking tray ready for their arrival

The little orphan was stumbled upon by Will Hall during an afternoon stroll near his home. His partner Alice preheated the oven and set up a makeshift incubator by placing a tea towel on a baking tray ready for their arrival

The couple who began living together at the start of the coronavirus lockdown watched the gg hatch in their oven for two hours

The couple who began living together at the start of the coronavirus lockdown watched the gg hatch in their oven for two hours

The pair remained hopeful as they nervously kept watch over the egg. Two hours later – to their delight – the shell cracked open and a duckling emerged. 

Now wonderfully fluffy, it’s a welcome addition for the couple, who only started living together in Winchester, Hampshire, at the beginning of lockdown. 

But deciding on a name is proving to be one source of tension, with Mr Hall suggesting Sergeant Fluffy, and events coordinator Miss Kendall preferring a somewhat more elegant option, River.

Mr Hall, a teacher, said they enlisted the help of Miss Kendall’s father, a former poultry farmer. 

Mr Hall suggesting Sergeant Fluffy, and events coordinator Miss Kendall preferring a somewhat more elegant option, River

Mr Hall suggesting Sergeant Fluffy, and events coordinator Miss Kendall preferring a somewhat more elegant option, River

‘He told us to keep it warm at 32 degrees Celsius, but our oven only starts at 50, so we had to keep turning it on and off with the door open to make sure it was around 30,’ Mr Hall said. 

‘The duckling follows us around everywhere. It is such a sweet little thing, Alice is thrilled to bits. She loves cuddling it and it’s certainly made her broody.’

Mr Hall, who thinks the egg must have been moved by a dog or fox, said he will take the orphan to a rescue centre or duck pond when it is big and strong enough.