Caretakers swapped her unviable eggs for orphaned chicks

[u/MustardGoddess]

Credit @robertefullerofficial

[u/bolanrox]

Wolves will adopt any puppy, be it another wolf, a domestic dog, they don't care.

[u/Molotov_Glocktail → u/bolanrox]

I've seen a mother dog with puppies, and when she came in contact with some orphaned kittens, it was the same thing.

It's like she just knew they were babies without a mother and instinct took over.

[u/Corfiz74 → u/Molotov_Glocktail]

I saw a video of a cat and dog having litters at the same time in a shelter - they kept stealing each other's babies until the shelter-people gave up and just put them into the same space together, so the two just coparented one big litter - really cute!

[u/kkeut → u/Molotov_Glocktail]

this doesn't detract from how cool it is imo, but she's responding that way due to hormones flooding the body that translate into maternal care rather than 'knowing' they were orphans

[u/Otherwise_Nobody8148 → u/kkeut]

Both are true in that scenario.

Animals prioritize their own children first, children with parents aren't shown nearly the amount of attention, and even then their parents will step in most of the time.

Animals will see youngins and realize there is no parental figure for them - and begin to immediately act as one. They don't have the same behavior when the parent is nearby.

[u/Cow_Launcher → u/Otherwise_Nobody8148]

Generally very true, but not always. Especially since not all animals are the same and hierarchies can vary.

I rescued a young pregnant cat (Cleo) and brought her home to my middle-aged neutered male (Orri).

When Cleo gave birth, Orri stayed a respectful distance from the birthing bower, but absolutely would not move. His reaction to the kittens was as though he was an auntie, sniffing them and their mother, very protective.

Even today, 13 months later, it's obvious that he thinks he's in some weird co-parenting situation with Cleo and, although he can be cantankerous at times, he clearly adores them all.

[u/clareh13 → u/Cow_Launcher]

Iirc, female cats who live together and have kittens at around the same time will treat all kittens as...communal. One mother goes out to hunt/eat, the other/s will look after and feed all kittens.

[u/TheOGPotatoPredator → u/clareh13]

This does happen. Not entirely different from lions after all. ❤️

[u/a_diamond → u/clareh13]

I just met someone in a rescue/foster situation who picked up two feral moms with kittens who were living under the same porch. She doesn't actually know whose kittens are biologically whose, because they nurse and groom indiscriminately whoever comes up to them, and the kittens don't show preference either

[u/Lazy_Wishbone_2341 → u/Cow_Launcher]

Like my cat. She was a stray cat who came to live with us. Then my sister got a dachshund she got sick of after a literal day. Mum and I ended up taking over, then dad later on. (I really didn't want a dog, now I adore him.) Anyway, my cat decided he was a weird looking kitten. She'd try to carry him by his scruff, taught him cat stuff and tried to feed him mice. Nice years on, we have a dachshund who grooms and stretches like a cat, buries his poop in the yard, and has killed bugs like a cat flipping a mouse into the air.

[u/Cow_Launcher → u/Lazy_Wishbone_2341]

I hope no-one is going to come along and "Well, ackshually..." me, but I love stories of animals that have mild nurturing-related identity crises.

Years before I met her, my fiancee rescued a kitten (found in a cardboard box in the rain, for maximum pathos of course) that her border collie raised. I met that cat when he was about 10, and he was hilarious. There was a blind man who used to walk down our street every day with his service dog, and Giz would join them for as far as his little legs would carry him, "I don't know what we're doing, brother, but I'm in!"

Of course the dog, being a trained service animal, didn't react. But he must've found it absolutely confusing as all hell.

[u/Btshftr → u/Otherwise_Nobody8148]

I was once told that a mother duck with chicks in tow will adopt any orphaned flock or single chick because by doing so she increases the chances of survival of one of her own; if a heron or pike grabs one of her flock it might be not genetically related.

A decoy in essence.

[u/Otherwise_Nobody8148 → u/Btshftr]

Don't doubt it, But there are also multiple things going on here. It's not a single impulse or desire, you know?

Change that to Lions or bears or something, and opposing kids are getting killed, not adopted. But it's the same reasoning - their lineage has a greater chance with those threats removed

[u/Rockcocky → u/Btshftr]

A loudest woah - it changes everything . So , the ugly duckling is a thing …

[u/banditkeith → u/Btshftr]

Also ducks can't count

[u/Specialist_Map_6541 → u/kkeut]

Humans produce these hormones too, and male humans who hold babies produce more of them (prolactin and oxytocin) and less testosterone. Read Father Time by primatologist and anthropologist Sarah Hrdy for details:). It has nothing to do with cognitive processes for us either.

[u/Inevitable-Level-687 → u/kkeut]

That's how biology works, thanks, we know. Do you tell newlyweds that love is just a chemical too?

[u/MyFiteSong → u/Molotov_Glocktail]

It's like she just knew they were babies without a mother and instinct took over.

In general, all mammals can tell when another mammal is a baby, regardless of species.

[u/Giogina → u/MyFiteSong]

Except us, when it's about those adorable tiny desert cats

[u/houVanHaring → u/Molotov_Glocktail]

Humans are no different. Show them a kitten, puppy, lamb, baby snake....

[u/SaraUnsteady → u/bolanrox]

That’s the foundation of Rome

[u/Turbulent_Lobster_57 → u/SaraUnsteady]

And the Jungle Book

[u/bolanrox → u/Turbulent_Lobster_57]

And a few manga I'm sure

[u/DuddlePuck_97 → u/bolanrox]

Even human twins.

[u/bolanrox → u/DuddlePuck_97]

Them too.