Supermarket quail egg hatches

The quail egg had been bought from Waitrose (Getty Images)

A live quail has hatched from an egg bought from the supermarket Waitrose, according to a report.

Mandy Clayton, 49, a swimming teacher who keeps chickens, said she put one of the eggs in an incubator to see what would happen.

“I'd bought a dozen quails' eggs for a barbecue, and had four left over from the salad, so I just put them in the incubator to see what would happen,” she said, according to the Western Daily Press.

“I know they were free range eggs, but I didn't really expect one to hatch. It was in there 16 days in all.”

She said she had tried again with a dozen eggs “but nothing happened”.

Ms Clayton, of Chaldon, Surrey, said the bird, named Rose, was “so sweet and quite tame”.

“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.”

She said she had since bought four other quail to keep the bird company.