(CNN) After fruitless attempts to hatch stones and fish, a gay penguin couple at a German zoo may finally be able to parent a chick of their own.

Zoo Berlin officials announced that two of its male king penguins, Skipper and Ping, have eagerly adopted an egg. It'll be the pair's first chick, if all goes well.

The couple arrived together from a zoo in Hamburg in April, and their bond was evident as soon as they arrived, zoo spokesman Maximilian Jäger said.

In July, keepers decided to give Skipper and Ping a real crack at parenthood. One of the zoo's female king penguins laid an egg, but because she had never hatched her previous eggs, staff members decided to donate it to the pair, he said.

The couple, who had taken turns nursing rocks and bits of food between their feet and trying to hatch them, were more than willing to oblige.