Rare quadruplet lambs born in North Carolina

WAYNESVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A sheep in North Carolina gave birth to four lambs, a rare feat for the farm animal.

Even rarer, all four survived and are healthy.

David Hendrix of Waynesville said the Katahdin lambs were born on Friday, March 3, during a harsh storm.

The mother birthed three females and one male.

Because the ewe only has two udders, Hendrix, who lives on Lickstone Farm in Haywood County, has to bottle feed two of the lambs. One of the females has particularly taken to Hendrix, and follows him around the farm more than the others.

A quadruplet birth for sheep happens about once in every 500 births, for a 1 in 500 chance, according to an article posted by Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. The most common scenario is a ewe birthing one-to-two lambs.

The quadruplets' mother is about four years old and birthed twins last year.

For all four of the lambs to survive, according to Pingree Farms in Michigan, which experienced a quadruplet lamb birth in March 2016, those 1 in 500 odds double.

The quads' birth brings Lickstone Farm's total to 30 sheep, all Katahdin, with several pregnant ewes expecting more lambs this spring.