South-East hobby farmers left stunned after ewe births six lambs in ’very, very rare’ sextuplet litter

When Brad Shephard went out to check on his sheep earlier this week, he received a shock – and immediately called a lamb rescue operation.

South-East hobby farmers Brad Shephard and Shannon Fowler received quite a shock Monday morning when they went to check on their sheep and found six newborn lambs sprawled out in the paddock next to their house.

The pair, who own a small hobby farm of just six sheep and some chickens out at Koorine near Mount Gambier, were expecting lambs, having recently brought a ram on to their farm, but were astounded when they realised one of their ewes had birthed six overnight.

“We woke up in the morning and Shannon said she could hear lambs so we went outside to check,” Mr Shephard said.

“At first I thought there were only two of them,” Ms Fowler said, “then Brad counted two more and another two and we realised there were six.”

Out of the six lambs the pair discovered, two of them were up and walking with their mother, one was stillborn and three were in a rather poor state.

While trying to figure out how best to help the three struggling lambs, Brad remembered a couple he knew who ran a lamb rescue and hopefully would be able to help.

Rebecca Alexander, her husband Scott, and their two kids Sophie and Kaleb, have been running Orphan Lamb Rescue Farm for the past four years.

Brad Shephard and Shannon Fowler with children Nate and Mila on their hobby farm with "Mumma" the ewe and two of her lambs. PICTURE: Jessica Dempster,

Three of the five surviving lambs were taken in by Rebecca Alexander and her family from Orphan Lamb Rescue to be cared for. PICTURE: Rebecca Alexander

The family takes in orphaned, lost or rejected lambs and provides them with the resources and care they need to give them a full and happy life; either adopting them out as pets once they’re old enough, or letting them live out their lives on their property.

Ms Alexander said she could hardly believe Brad when he called her and said he had a ewe who had given birth to six lambs.

“It’s very, very rare for a sheep to have sextuplets; singles, twins and triplets are most common, even quads are considered unusual, “Ms Alexander said.

“I think I asked him about three times if he was sure they all came from the one ewe.”

Ms Alexander said when they arrived at the property, two of the lambs were near death and one wasn’t doing so well so they gathered them up and rushed them back to their home.

Once back at their property, Ms Alexander immediately put the three lambs under the heat lamb.

Brad Shephard and Shannon Fowler with children Nate and Mila on their hobby farm with "Mumma" the ewe and two of her lambs. Picture: Rebecca Alexander

The biggest lamb out of the trio, a male weighing 2 kilos, half the birth weight of an average lamb, was the first to come to and get up to have a drink.

“The two girls came in very cold, we didn’t think they would make it,” Ms Alexander said.

The two girl lambs weighed only 1.3kg and 1.5kg each, however, they eventually came around and were able to stand and receive colostrum from the bottle from Ms Alexander and her two kids, Sophie and Kaleb, who love helping their parents look after lambs.

The three lambs currently weigh 1.3 kilograms, 1.5kg and 2kg while the average birth weight of a lamb is typically around 4 kgs. Picture: Rebecca Alexander

Sophie and Kaleb love helping their parents look after lambs. Picture: Rebecca Alexander

A few days on from their birth, the trio of lambs at the rescue are doing well but Ms Alexander said “they’re still not out of the woods”.

“But saying that we didn’t expect these lambs to survive the night when we first got them so they’ve shown they’re fighters.”

If you want to keep up with lambs you can do so by following Orphan Lamb Rescue’s Facebook or Instagram pages, you can also donate either funds or resources to the family to help them continue to look after lambs.

As for the mother ewe, who Mr Shephard and Ms Fowler have affectionately dubbed “Mumma”, and her two remaining lambs, all three are doing well and are getting lots of love and extra food from the couple and their children.

"Mumma" and the ewe and two of her lambs. PICTURE: Jessica Dempster.

Mr Shephard and Ms Fowler said they don’t plan for Mumma to have any more lambs and are considering selling the ram after this season.

“Our flock of six doubled in one night thanks to just one birth,” Mr Shephard said laughing, “I think that’s enough for us.”

The couple said they couldn’t be more thankful for Rachel, Scott and Orphan Lamb Rescue and encourage people to show them support.