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Woman Hatches Duck Egg by Carrying It in Her Bra For Over A Month

By Akinwale Akinyoade

21 April 2020   |   2:13 pm

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Betsy Ross from California has earned the praises and admiration of many for hatching a cracked duck egg she found in the park by carrying it in her bra for over a month. The California woman who is an independent contractor from Visalia incubated the egg in her bra for 35 days. She reportedly was walking…

Betsy Ross from California has earned the praises and admiration of many for hatching a cracked duck egg she found in the park by carrying it in her bra for over a month.

The California woman who is an independent contractor from Visalia incubated the egg in her bra for 35 days.

She reportedly was walking in the public park with her family when they came across a smashed up duck nests. Luckily, one of the duck eggs survived with only a small crack.

Her kids begged her to save it and try to help it hatch. She had never hatched an egg before, and she didn’t think she could save it, but the children were already upset because of the nests, so she said yes. That was the start of a remarkable journey that saw the young mother of three carrying a duck egg with her everywhere she went for 35 days.

In an interview with Bored Panda, Betsy revealed that she contacted a local wildlife rescue organization since she didn’t have an incubator but learned they didn’t take eggs.

She thought of the next best warm place to keep it and opted for her bra, close to her chest. A quick search online proved that she had chosen the right spot as the eggs basically require warmth and humidity. She also read that she had to rotate it a few times a day.

“My boobs sweat in heat (gross I know),” Betsy said. “I carried it in my bra for 35 days and slept with it there as well. I’m a plus size girl so it just kinda fit right between my breasts.”

She said for the 35 days, the only time the egg wasn’t with her was when she showered as she handed it to her husband for a few minutes. She figured that if mother ducks left the nest every once in a while to get food, her egg would survive too.

The embryo inside the egg began to grow and Besty had to do more internet research on what to do when a duckling is hatching. She learned that it needed much more humidity and that she had to stop rotating it. Her bra wouldn’t do anymore, so she started a hatching box herself.

“At 35 days, I started hearing faint peeps which the internet said was called pipping and its beak was pushing out of the lining,” the woman said.

It wasn’t as smooth as one would think because  A day after putting the duck egg in the hatching box, she noticed that something was wrong and called a vet.

It turned out that the duckling inside was being” shrink-wrapped in the membrane” and she had to peel away the shell and make sure the bird’s beak was where it could breathe.

The little duck eventually got out of the egg, but it was still attached to the yolk on the bottom, which, she was told, was because he had hatched a bit early. She later learned on Reddit that it was either because the incubation temperature was too low, or because the temperature wasn’t stable.

“I got a wet paper towel and wrapped it around the shell with the yolk and put Neosporin on it so it wouldn’t get infected. Maybe not the best idea but I was scared,” Betsy said.

Even after the duckling absorbed the yolk, it was too weak to stand, or even move, for a couple of days, but its human mom didn’t give up on it, keeping an eye on it and giving it water from time to time. He (it turned out to be a male) eventually built up the strength to walk and Betsy built him a special carrier and took him everywhere with her.

When the duckling was old enough, Betsy called one of her connections at the animal rescue and found him a home at a nearby farm where a young girl couldn’t wait to meet him.

“He is doing well and has a new human girl who loves him,” Betsy said.