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Labrador Gives Birth To One Of The Biggest Litters In History For The Breed

Labrador Gives Birth To One Of The Biggest Litters In History For The Breed

Bella, the six-year-old lab has given birth to 14 puppies

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

A six-year-old labrador has given birth to a staggering 14 puppies - believed to be one of the biggest ever litters for its breed.

Proud mum Bella delivered the incredible number of puppies last month, leaving her owner Hazel Hedges lost for words.

Some of the puppies.
SWNS

Hazel, 31, a registered dog breeder, had expected black labrador Bella to produce a litter of around six to eight puppies.

This was based on a scan before she gave birth which showed around six pups.

But they just kept on popping out at Hazel's home at Wentworth, near Ely, Cambridgeshire, leaving her stunned.

The adorable dogs.
SWNS

Bella gave birth to 14 pups in total during a seven hour labour. She gave birth to a total of four black boys, four black girls, three yellow boys and three yellow girls.

Each and every one of them were all were fit and healthy when they were born on 18 April.

The litter is believed to be the biggest ever recorded in England, though a 15-strong litter was recorded in Scotland in 2014.

Can we have them all?
SWNS

All of Hazel's gorgeous puppies have already been snapped up after Ms Hedges shared their images online and they will have new homes on 13 June after being weaned.

It was Bella's fourth litter and Hazel said: "I think this is one of the biggest labrador litters in history and probably the biggest ever in England.

"It was Bella's last litter and she has certainly made it one to remember. Normally I would have expected her to deliver a litter of around six or eight puppies.

"She always has all blacks with just one yellow, but she gave birth to a mixture of blacks and yellow this was a surprise."

Bella's last ever litter was a mixture of black and yellow puppies.
SWNS

The puppies' dad, Scooby, is a yellow labrador and is Kennel Club registered.

Ms Hedges and her partner James, 34, have been breeding labradors for five years.

Hazel added: "Bella was scanned when she became pregnant but the numbers are never right and we certainly were not expecting 14!

"I just could not believe it when they just kept coming. I had to wake my partner up to help me clean the pups because they were coming so fast.

"She's been a brilliant mum but now I think it is time for her to have a rest."

Well done, Bella.

Featured Image Credit: SWNS

Topics: Community, Animals