This is the unbelievable moment four baby quails hatch inside a carton of eggs at a market stall on a staggeringly hot day in Brazil.
The adorable chicks can be seen cracking through their shells as they draw their first breaths in 37 degrees Celsius weather in front of a shocked market stall manager and his employee.
This occurred in the Brazilian city of Campo Maior, in the state of Piaui, according to local media reports from Thursday, 13th October.
Two of the chicks died just a few minutes after their birth leaving just two alive.
The market stall manager, Fabio Gomes, told local media that he began to film the curious incident after a member of staff heard noises coming from a carton of quail eggs sitting on a shelf.
He added: “We were very surprised to find the chicks being born.
“I had already moved the packaging because of the heat, because it’s made out of plastic.”
In the video, a surprised Fabio catches a jittery chick with his hands after he opens the carton of quail eggs to find the four baby birds wriggling out of their shells.
He then cries: “We found a hatchery here! Look! Oh my God!”
The hatching was a result of the high temperatures plaguing the city, according to zootechnician Bruno Costa.
He went on to explain that the hatching also occurred because the eggs had already been fertilised and embryos had developed.
Quail chicks take an average of 17 days to hatch, according to the expert.
This process may have been accelerated by high temperatures.
He added: “Fertile eggs, a temperature approaching 37 degrees Celsius and a humidity above 60 per cent, provided the right conditions for hatching.
“Eggs for consumption should not be (fertilised) due to shelf life.
“Sometimes the controls are not effective and they send fertile eggs to markets.”
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