Zara, 13, hatches egg-citing pet plan

ZARA Sutcliffe had been begging her parents for more pets to add to the family’s collection.

- KIEREN WILLIAMS AND NEAL KEELING

The 13-year-old had been asking her mum, Claire, for months whether she could buy a box of Clarence Court ‘Free to Fly’ quail eggs, that she had read could be hatched.

On August 14, she spotted the brand during the family’s weekly shop and her mum let her buy them. The animal-loving family already had a dog, three cats, two red-footed tortoises and a mantis - and Zara’s dad, Simon, had said ‘no more pets.’

Zara, from Altrincham, said: “I did a lot of research straight away when I got the eggs.” She had to carefully turn them four times a day, to stop the yolk settling and preventing them hatching.

At first, Claire warned her daughter that it might not turn out as she hoped, and they may not hatch. But Zara remained confident, using an incubator, weighing the eggs regularly, and checking them with a torch.

Soon, the eggs began gaining weight, and the chicks could be seen growing within.