Hell hath no fury like a mother hen when protecting her ducklings. Ducks around her soon learn to keep their distance because they don’t want to get bitten or have feathers plucked from their bodies. Above, a 2-3 month old duckling (left) is unaware he is near babies until the hen charges him and bites his flank as her own duckling scurries to get out of the way.
Later, a hen with four ducklings comes into the territory of the same hen (Brood 26) and the two have a prolonged battle for that particular space. What begins with biting each other’s necks (above left) as Brood 26 watch soon escalates into a wild bout with wings flapping and feathers flying in all directions (below left).
It ends when the invading hen flees (below) to escape the furious biting and Brood 26′s hen does a victory dance (above right).
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