A farmer was shocked after her flock had FOUR sets of rare triplet lambs within days.<br /><br />Usually ewes have one or two lambs and triplets are rare - but having four sets born in one flock in a week is virtually unheard of.<br /><br />But that's what happened at Roves Farm, a visitor centre and working farm near Swindon, Wiltshire.<br /><br />Pippa Bolter, who manages the flock of native Poll Dorsets, said the arrivals earlier this month were "fantastic".<br /><br />Pippa said: ""Triplets are not uncommon, but we normally have one or two. <br /><br />"This year we've had four in the last few days!<br /><br />"This breed is really laid-back and friendly and their niche is that they lamb earlier than other breeds."<br /><br />Roves Farm has two breeds on-site - the Poll Dorsets, which are lambed in January and the Continentals which are lambed in April.<br /><br />The latest births mean the farms lamb shed is extra busy, with over 70 lambs delivered in one month.<br /><br />Poll Dorsets are the only native sheep which can breed all year round.<br /><br />Pippa said: "We scan them at 90 days to count the lambs so we make sure we’re feeding them the right amount, because obviously a ewe with a single lamb won’t need as much to eat as one with three.<br /><br />"If a ewe has more than two lambs, we adopt extra lambs onto a ewe that’s only having one lamb, because ewes have only got two teats, so they can only feed two lambs at once.<br /><br />"The only way she’ll accept the lamb is if we give them a bath in her lambing fluid so it smells like her. It’s not perfect, but it usually works.<br /><br />"Then we put her real lamb in beside her and she usually doesn’t register that she hasn’t given birth for the second time.<br /><br />"After a few days drinking her milk, it will smell like her."<br /><br />The last few lambs are expected to arrive next week.
