Archive - Apr 8, 2012

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Waddle we look like when we grow up, Mum? Hilda the hen hatches clutch of ducklings after sitting on wrong nest
They may not look like their mum - or sound like her - but that doesn't seem to bother these fluffy little birds. Hilda the hen nested over the five eggs for a month, apparently unaware that they had been laid by a duck. Farm owner Philip Palmer was also none the wiser as Hilda barely left the duck eggs alone until they hatched after 28 days. And even when tiny Indian runner ducklings emerged instead of fluffy yellow chicks, Hilda wasn't put off and adopted the babies as her own.

Phillip, 45, who runs the Farmer Palmer's children's activity farm near Poole, Dorset, said: 'Hilda doesn't seem bothered at all - the ducklings follow her around just as chicks would. 'It was so surprising but lovely and she has proved to be very capable at raising them. The ducklings aren't aware that their mother is a hen and Hilda is totally unaware that she's actually got a bunch of ducks waddling behind her.

'The ducklings don't leave her side and if they get scared they run for cover under their "mum". It is very sweet to see. The only way they will really notice the difference is when the ducks start swimming in the pond.'

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Photos courtesy of BNPS.co.uk / Mail Online