A farmer who thought his sheep was having triplets got a shock after ONE lamb was delivered – at three times the normal size.
The giant lamb – called Sally – weighs a whopping 23lb and is so big it took her mother around 15 minutes to give birth.
Farmer Ken Jones, of East Huntspill, Somerset, says she will be spared the chop because of her incredible size – and will be kept as a pet.
He said: ”The mum was lying down and pushing for quite some time and obviously having some difficulties so I went to help.
”I thought she was having triplets, she was so big. As I pulled the front legs I thought, ‘this is a big one’.
”It only came out about halfway when normally that would have been the whole lamb – it just kept coming and coming.
”It was incredible. We’ve had quite a few big lambs but she was nearly twice the size of anything we have had before.”
Sally was born to mum Daisy and Ken says the lamb was immediately on her feet.
He said: ”They are usually a bit lazy when they are big, but she was surprisingly quick to get up.
”We tend to have too many ewe lambs to keep but she’s special and has had a lucky escape – she’s not for the chop.”
A spokesman for the British Veterinary Association said Sally’s size could have been caused by a number of factors.
He said: ”Big births like this can be one of the quirks of nature – it could be down to things like the genetics or the feed.”
