Goose hatches duck’s eggs to save the flock

Bird enthusiast Sarah Brouard has kept and bred ducks, geese and chickens for more than 13 years, and until recently she had a magnificent flock of Muscovy ducks.

Unfortunately all 35 of them contracted duck enteritis virus, also known as the duck plague.

The incurable virus is transmitted by wild birds visiting and contaminating nearby water.

Her whole flock, apart from one female, was dead in two weeks.

Mrs Brouard said she had never experienced the virus before and was devastated that her flock was gone.

‘I had three different breeding lines over the years, but they were one big happy flock together, and were very friendly and had big personalities,’ she said.

Mrs Brouard said she later noticed that one of her geese was sat on some eggs and awoke to a surprise a few weeks later.

‘I went up to the pen in the morning and could hear peeping. As soon as I saw one of them I knew instantly they weren’t goslings because they were smaller and had different markings,’ she said.

‘I was very surprised and quite emotional, I knew the eggs were due to hatch out but had no idea they were going to be Muscovies.’

She said that the last female duck to die must have sneaked some eggs into the nest, as she had done before, prior to her death.

Mrs Brouard said she is hand-rearing the ducklings, three boys and one girl.

Those she called her 'miracle ducklings' are healthy and growing fast, she said.