A hen named Gulla at the farm Ósbakki in the rural region Skeiða- og Gnúpverjahreppur in south Iceland serves as foster mother to three mallard ducklings after ravens attacked their mother as it lay on the eggs.
Icelandic hens and a rooster. Archive photo by Páll Stefánsson.
The duck was injured beyond salvation and had to be put down but its four eggs were taken to the farm where th Gulla took them under her wing, Fréttablaðið recites from the farmers’ journal Bændablaðið.
Upon hatching, one of the chicks died immediately but the other three are alive and well. Gulla cares for them around the clock, although she doesn’t jump after them into the pond when they go for a swim, as she doesn’t know how to herself.
ESA
