A ewe on a farm in Co. Galway has somehow managed to defy all the odds for two years in a row by giving birth to six live lambs.

The prolific ewe which resides on the Teagasc research farm in Athenry, Co. Galway, gave birth to sextuplets last year also.

A post shared on the Teagasc Twitter page explained: “You might remember in 2018 we posted about a ewe in Teagasc Athenry who gave birth to sextuplets. Well she’s only gone and produced another six this year.”

The post explained that this year’s crop of lambs from the ewe consisted of three males and three females, each weighing between 2.7kg and 4.7kg.

The post added that both the ewe and the lambs are “all doing well”.


[yes-app]

[/yes-app]

Yuletide ewe

Meanwhile, remaining in the west of Ireland, a farm family in Co. Mayo got a surprise back in January when their ewe gave birth to five hale and hearty lambs.

Speaking to AgriLand, Martina Flannery, of Bangor Erris, Co. Mayo, explained the ewe’s unexpected lambing.

They were born last Sunday; she started lambing at 2:30pm in the afternoon and she had her fifth lamb at 6:30pm.

All five lambs are thriving, according to Martina, with each a good size.

A ewe having quintuplets is often mooted as one-in-a-million.

The prolific ewe herself was a Christmas present for the daughter of Martina and her husband Michael, who bought the sheep.