After their duck mother vanished, the young chicks were abandoned on the grounds of Mountfitchet Castle in England before 15-year-old Fred the dog intervened.
A 15-year-old Labrador retriever named Fred has taken in fifteen abandoned ducklings and is an unexpected but knowledgeable foster father.
Despite not having the right appearance, Fred has experience raising ducklings. The dog has frequently adopted a bunch of abandoned ducklings as his own. Nine orphaned ducklings were raised by Fred, who was 10 at the time, in 2018. Fred watched after another group of ducklings that were abandoned by their parents a year later Mountfitchet Castle in Essex, England, where he lives.
The old dog is now proud father to a fresh flock of birds in 2022.
The mother of these ducklings inexplicably vanished from the castle grounds over night, leaving the little ones orphaned. When the mother duck failed to show up, Fred made the decision to assume the role of a caring father by watching over the young creatures, giving them rides on his back, and giving them hugs.
Recent Facebook photos from the Mountfitchet Castle show the Lab cuddling up to the young birds.
“Our doting 15-year-old Fred has become a Foster parent for the second time in 5 years, But this time to 15 orphaned ducklings. Well done, Fred,” the historical attraction wrote on July 5.
The ducklings are adorable as they cuddle up to Fred’s front legs, sometimes even climbing on top of him, while they lay together in the sun.
Jeremy Goldsmith, the owner of Fred, said that he was not shocked that Fred had found a new family.
As a result of spending a lot of time at the castle with the animals over the course of his 15-year ownership, Goldsmith claimed that Fred has become accustomed to being around the numerous rescued creatures.
Until they are old enough to support themselves on their own, Fred plans to keep the ducklings at the castle.