Rare birth: Ewe has quadruplets on Rotorua lifestyle block

Robyn Wren had an inkling her ewe was pregnant with twins but when she woke to four new lambs in her paddock, she knew something rare had happened.

The ewe, a suffolk cross, had given birth to quadruplets - a feat almost unheard of in the farming community.

The Rotorua woman said she had been told a ewe having quads was incredibly rare but it wasn't the first time she had witnessed it on her lifestyle block.

"Two years ago we had another ewe with quads.

"It must be the ram," she joked.

Wren and her husband Mike have had sheep for 23 years.

"Two years ago was the first time we'd ever seen quads. This current ewe usually has twins so we thought this pregnancy would be the same. When we woke to find four lambs it was definitely a surprise."

She said all four were fit and healthy, "all drinking and with full pukus".

Federated Farmers Rotorua Taupo president Alan Wills said a ewe having quads was "exceptional".

"Twins are pretty common, you'll occasionally get triplets but quads are almost unheard of.

"I have a dairy farm but we do have sheep as well and I've never seen quads, it's not normal at all. That's an exceptional ewe they have there."

Wills added that ewes only have two teats so "even with triplets there's a bit of a scuffle".