Record-breaking Mallard takes to the water with huge brood of TWENTY FOUR ducklings
- Previous biggest ever brood of ducks was 22 in Oklahoma in the US
- Youngsters will become independent in 50 to 60 days time
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Diligently falling in line behind their mother, this group of ducklings has swum into the record books.
Despite laying her eggs in sub-zero temperatures at the beginning of March, a mother gave birth to 24 healthy chicks - thought to be the largest brood ever recorded.
The female was pictured with her two-dozen bundles of fluff at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust’s reserve in Arundel, West Sussex, after 28 days of incubating the eggs.
Huge brood: The mother and her record-breaking 24 ducklings at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Arundel, West Sussex
Record-breaker: This mallard duck has given birth to a record-breaking 24 young ducklings
But the chicks will face another monumental task collectively making it to adulthood, with their inability to fly making them easy prey for pike and birds such as herons.
The previous record for the largest brood of ducks is thought to have been set in Oklahoma in the US, where a female hatched 22 ducklings.
In the UK, the largest known brood was recorded in Hazelbury, Dorset, by photographer Brian Moore, who discovered the huge group of 21 ducklings in his son’s garden pond.
After hatching, ducklings usually stay in their nest for around ten hours where they stretch out their legs and dry off.
The youngsters are usually led to water the morning after birth, depending on their mother for between 50 and 60 days before they become independent.
Huge brood: The youngsters are usually led to water the morning after birth, depending on their mother for between 50 and 60 days before they become independent
With mum: One of the brood sits on top of their mother. The group of 24 are thought to be the largest group brood of ducklings ever recorded
Taking to it like ducks to water: The newborn ducklings quickly get to grips with swimming just after they are born
Leading the way: The mother duck leaps into the water followed by her huge brood
The chicks will face another monumental task collectively making it to adulthood, with their inability to fly making them easy prey for pike and birds such as herons
Mother duck: The largest ever previously recorded brood was 22 in Oklahoma, US
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2313006/Record-breaking-Mallard-takes-water-huge-brood-TWENTY-FOUR-ducklings.html#ixzz2RDlDrSXW
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