VEVAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A Michigan farmer whose ewe gave birth to twins found himself carefully counting sheep when he later discovered three more lambs.
The Lansing State Journal reports that one of Paul Oesterle’s Suffolk-mix ewes gave birth to quintuplets last week.
Michigan State University sheep expert Alan Culham says the chance of that breed bearing the multiple litter is one in 10,000.
Oesterle, whose farm is southeast of Lansing, says he thought the ewe had given birth to twins.
But he found three more lambs when he checked the next day.
Oesterle says the ewe can’t produce enough milk for all five babies so he has to help feed them every six hours.
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Information from:
Lansing State Journal, http://www.lansingstatejournal.com