Sheep and duck now unlikely best friends after being rejected by their parents

01 January 2023 , 05:50

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Del and Larry now do everything together (Image: CorinMesser/BNPS)

An unlikely friendship has flourished between a sheep and a duck who were raised together on a farm after being rejected by their parents.

Shortly after Larry the lamb was born in May, staff at Farmer Palmer's Farm Park near Poole, Dorset, started to worry that something was wrong with him as he became increasingly distant.

Around the same time, a farm hand rescued a duckling that had been abandoned by its family, taking it in and naming it Del.

Katy Lester, animal manager at the farm, decided that it would be a good idea to group the two strays together.

They quickly became inseparable.

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Del and Larry are best buddies (CorinMesser/BNPS)

Del and Larry now do everything together and when they are separated they quack and bleat to be brought back together.

They are often spotted grooming each other in the evenings.

Katy said: "It was so heartwarming seeing them grow together and they are completely inseparable now.

"We were worried that Larry had some hearing issue that meant he was never properly accepted as a member of the flock.

The unlikely pair are now 'completely inseparable' (CorinMesser/BNPS)

"When Del was brought in limping and abandoned we thought that they would be the perfect pair.

"Now they chatter away to each other and groom each other on evenings, it's just lovely to see.

"Everyone that comes to visit the farm thinks it's lovely, we are so glad it has worked out for them both."

It's not the first time the two species have come together in perfect harmony.

In 2015 a duckling was captured grooming a lamb's woollen coat in what the owner called "a heartwarming sign of trust and friendship".

The farmyard pals have become a hit with visitors (CorinMesser/BNPS)

The clip showed the lamb lowering its head down to the duck and staying still while the baby duck pecked away at its head and neck.

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And just as the lamb looked as if it was walking away, it can then be seen sitting down and letting the duckling continue its grooming session.

"What could be mistaken as pecking is actually a heartwarming sign of trust and friendship," the owner told the Daily Mail.

"The duck pecks out little clumps of debris that gets stuck in Winter's woollen coat.

"They seem so comfortable with each other that Winter can just lay down on the grass for a nap and let his feathered friend do what he does best."

Tom Burgess