STAFF at Farmer Palmer’s thought they had gone quackers when they started counting ducklings – and ran out of fingers.

Matilda the muscovy duck produced a brood of 15 delightful ducklings at the working Purbeck farm, which opened its doors to visitors on Saturday after a winter break.

“We thought we had lost her,” said Luke Millward who, along with Zena Loader, manages the animal barn.

“She sneaked off on her own and then she turned up with all the gang,” he said.

Large Muscovy ducks, which are the only domesticated duck not derived from the mallard, often lay big clutches of eggs.

And their incubation period is 36 days compared to the 28 days of other duck species. So while it is not unusual to have a large brood, the timing is abnormal.

“They don’t normally have clutches and start hatching until usually the start of April or mid-March, in spring,” said Luke.

“But this brood broke out of their eggs in the depths of chilly winter.

Matilda, who is about two years old, and her cute brown and yellow downy ducklings, which are one and a half weeks old, are now safely housed in the animal barn.

Muscovy ducks originated from Central and South America and were one of the first to be domesticated. They like to roost in trees at night and are generally gentle creatures, who hiss rather than quack.

“She’s really relaxed and very happy. That breed of duck are good mums,” said Luke.

Matilda and her brood can be seen in the animal barn between 10am and 4pm.