'Rare' quintuplet lamb birth awes Saanich community ahead of Mother's Day

Santana Dreaver · CBC News

· Posted: May 11, 2025 10:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

While dogs and cats are known to person ample liters, sheep not truthful much. So erstwhile Ashley Rice returned to Prohibition Vineyards successful Saanich to find 5 lambs with her ewe Abagail, she was shocked. 

Rice had conscionable finished picking up her children from schoolhouse and moving errands erstwhile she decided to cheque connected Abagail successful the pasture, knowing she was large and astir to beryllium giving commencement soon. 

"We knew Abagail was our past sheep. We were waiting for her to person her babies, everyone other had their babies similar a period ago," said Rice.

LISTEN | Saanich sheep delivers quintuplets:

After driving to the pasture, her lad Jackon said, "look, 3 lambs!"

Her daughter Scarlett followed up with, "look, 4 lambs!"

When Rice went successful for a caput count, she said she was astonished to find 5 lambs. At first, the kids didn't judge her erstwhile she told them however galore determination were, she told CBC's All Point West in laughter.

With her hubby and farmhand away, Rice reached retired to her neighbour, Sidney, for help. The brace scooped up the lambs and took them to the lamb pen for information from ravens and eagles.

Rice said the lambs are steadfast and successful bully shape, but this litter has been smaller successful size compared to erstwhile ones. She said an attachment has grown and the lambs are being monitored regularly to enactment their health. 

"All of them are ace healthy, nary commencement defects. They are each starting to leap astir and the ma is conscionable being super, putting up with tons of shenanigans successful the pen," she said. 

In different sheep quintuplet commencement communicative 2 years agone successful Salmon Arm, B.C., a sheep researcher astatine the University of Guelph, Cathy Bauman, said that sheep lone person 2 teats, truthful caring for much than 2 lambs astatine a clip tin beryllium hard for the mothers. 

Rice said other effort is being enactment into caring for the lambs, fixed their peculiar commencement story. One lamb was connected the vessel for a fewer days but has since rejected it and is starting to summation weight, truthful things are hopeful and looking bully for the litter, she said. 

Bauman said sheep quintuplets are rather rare. She keeps a herd of sheep herself and has witnessed galore births implicit the years. Five lambs from an ewe would beryllium a surprise, said Bauman.  

Rice said that her children person been particularly excited to spot the lambs extracurricular successful the pen each day, and the sheep assemblage successful Saanich has been regularly checking successful connected the babies, rooting for their occurrence and offering the household advice.

The lambs volition beryllium acceptable to spell retired with the remainder of the pasture this coming week, said Rice.

"Everyone is appreciating the sweet, blessed communicative and we admit it excessively — it draws airy connected farming and the sheep," she said, noting not a batch radical workplace the animals connected Vancouver Island.