One of our ducks, Priscilla, is super friendly but a notoriously terrible mother, hatched 3 guineas but then quickly abandoned them. We had 3 tiny guineas running around the chicken yard. We weren’t sure how they were going to make it, until our lone chick, just 3 weeks old, took over momma duties.
Not only did she show them how to eat, but lets all 3 climb under her for sleeping and protection.
Elsewhere in the chicken yard, we have a chicken and duck raising 7 ducklings together. They sat together on the nest for 28 long days and once they hatched, they are sharing duties.
Here’s another momma with ducklings. Wait a duck raising ducklings? Something’s wrong around here …
We currently have 15 ducklings, 1 chick, and 3 guinea keets
*Sorry — all pics with iPhone this time
That’s amazing, and wonderful. We’ve had them share before. Once we had a hen who hatched only one chick, so she gave it another hen to raise with her brood. But never have I seen a chick take on the responsibilities of a mother!
She’s down to 1 guinea keet now, not sure what happened to the other two, but she’s been raising it for over a week. Crazy how early those mothering instincts kick in.