GANGNEUNG, Jul. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — Choi Ho-jun, a 59-year-old man living in Gangneung, woke up to a chirping sound coming from his home’s veranda early Tuesday morning.
Thinking that perhaps a bird had made its way into the home through an open window, Choi was in for a big surprise when he turned on the lights and saw a chick that had hatched from a carton of eggs he was keeping outside.
Feathered in black, the chick was flapping its tiny wings while chirping loudly seemingly in search of its mother.
Growing chickens in his backyard, Choi regularly collects eggs laid by his hen to give to guests that visiting him at his home.
Choi explained that the one egg that had hatched had not been incubated by a chicken because eggs are collected daily.
Choi said that usually he collects three to four eggs a day and stores them in the refrigerator.
But as the heat had prevented his chickens from laying eggs, he left his egg container outside to ensure that he could give away his eggs to relatives. It was one of the eggs in this very container that had hatched.
Choi went onto say that it was probably the heat that incubated the egg in place of its mother.
Although rare, instances of chicks hatching without incubation in high temperatures are not as uncommon as one might expect during the summer season.
In 2016, a chick hatched from an egg carton holding fertilized eggs placed atop a refrigerator. In order for an egg to hatch, the temperature must be maintained at the same levels as an incubating hen.
Kang Bo-seok, a researcher at the National Institute of Animal Science, said that cell division of fertilized eggs starts at temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius, which leads to the eventual growth of the chick.
“If temperatures of approximately 37 degrees Celsius are maintained, it is possible for a chick to hatch,” said Kang.
Temperatures in Gangneung surpassed 35 degrees due to the North Pacific High, and the lowest recorded temperature for Monday morning was 31 degrees, the highest low on record.
Choi said that the chick was a present from the heat wave and vowed that he would raise it well.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
