Co Sligo family thrilled as ewe gives birth to quintuplet lambs

The ewe was herself born as a triplet six years ago has given birth to three ewes and two rams this year, while she gave birth to quadruplets last year and triplets in 2022.

The chances of a ewe giving birth to five lambs is one in a million and they get even higher when all five survive.

Mary Donagher and her family had been excited since January as they knew their ewe was carrying five lambs, but they remained calm until all five lambs were born and thriving.

“We have a family farm and we all give a helping hands during the busy season. My children Deirdre and Niall are in college but they also help as the lambing season is a very busy time of the year.

“We breed almost 100 sheep every year and having triplets is a bit common now. This year we have 110 lambs already out of which 10 sets are triplets.

“Quadruplets are already rare enough, but quintuplets are very rare to have. Last year this same ewe had quadruplets which was a first for us but unfortunately one of the lambs didn’t survive.

“This year we were a bit more cautious as we knew she was carrying four or five lambs.

“My husband Seamus Donagher gets all the sheep scanned in January and that gives us an idea of how many babies the sheep are carrying.

“It was at 1am on St Patrick’s morning when the quintuplets were born and Seamus was there to take care of them. The ewe needed a bit of assistance but the births were completely natural.

“I think they just wanted to make it on St. Patrick’s Day!”

Mary added that the ram who fathered the quintuplets is only 3 years old and fathered the quadruplets last year too.

“All five lambs are healthy and happy, and they keep running around their mother all day. We try to help the mother by feeding them with some supplements but otherwise the mother and babies are doing well on their own.

“I know it’s very rare to have quintuplets and even rarer to have them all survive.”