Meirionnydd sheep gives birth to six lambs in 'very rare' event

A young farmer had a ewe-ge surprise when her sheep gave birth to six healthy lambs in a "very rare" event.

Sheep usually deliver between one and three offspring, so Erin Fflur McNaught said the arrival of the sextuplets was a "total surprise".

All lambs are healthy and doing well after a shaky start for one, the 20-year-old from Meirionnydd said.

"They're all up on their feet with a belly full of milk, all happy now," she added.

Ms McNaught said the ewe's pregnancy scan suggested she would be having three lambs, but there was a chance she could have birthed more given her size.

"Triplets are quite common but six is very, very rare," she said.

Ms McNaught's grandfather said he had never seen so many lambs born from the same ewe in his 70 years of farming.

In 2019, a vet described the birth of five lambs to one sheep in Ceredigion as a "very unusual" event.

Ms McNaught said the lambs were doing well apart from one which had been smaller than the rest and struggled to stand.

"We took one lamb into the house and put it in front of the fire," she said.

"But you wouldn't be able to tell the difference now, they're enjoying the milk."

Ms McNaught said the ewe had been struggling to care for all six of her offspring, so she was helping to feed them with powdered milk from a bottle.

"They're all up on their feet with a belly full of milk and under the infrared lamp that keeps them warm, so they're all happy now," she said.

"To have them all alive is something even more rare. For six lambs to be healthy is something very, very special."