Sheep gives birth to SIX lambs on farm in Wales

Erin holding the lambsImage source, Erin Fflur McNaught/Twitter
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Erin said she was shocked by the arrival of the six lambs

Normally a female sheep - or ewe - gives birth to between one and three lambs - but what about six?!

That's what happened at one farm in Meirionnydd in Wales, after six healthy lambs were born at once.

It was an ewe-ge surprise for young farmer Erin Fflur McNaught, especially as the ewe's pregnancy scan suggested she would only be having three lambs.

Welsh sheep's incredible six lambs and counting!

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

Although it had been thought there was a chance the sheep could have birthed more given her size, after the scan it's not something Erin expected to happen.

Having so many babies to care for has been a lot for their mother to get used to, so some have been fed with powdered milk from a bottle.

Image source, Erin Fflur McNaught/Twitter
Image caption,

A woolly surprise

The 20-year-old farmer said the lambs were all doing well, including one who had initially been a bit smaller than the rest.

She told the BBC: "We took one lamb into the house and put it in front of the fire [as it was struggling to stand]. But you wouldn't be able to tell the difference now, they're enjoying the milk."

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

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