A 17-year-old ewe has successfully had her sixteenth lamb, according to her owner Ray Gunning from Portacloy, Co Mayo.
"She’s a 17-year-old Suffolk. I originally got her as a pet lamb for my daughter when she was 10," Gunning told the Irish Farmers Journal.
"We keep about 125 sheep, but I've never heard of one living to 17, let alone having a healthy lamb!"
ADVERTISEMENT
The ewe has been called Betty Boo by Gunning's daughter, and the family believe it'll be Betty's last lamb on the farm.
Betty Boo and her lamb.
"The ewe has been mollycoddled all her life, there's no way I'll be allowed to cull her. She doesn't have any teeth left but we give her special feed and she's housed every winter," Gunning said.
"We were hoping she would have a ewe lamb because we think this will be her last lamb, but she had a ram lamb. Her ram lambs always sell very well for me for breeding."
This content is available to digital subscribers and loyalty code users only. Sign in to your account, use the code or subscribe to get unlimited access.
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
CODE ACCEPTED
You have full access to the site until next Wednesday at 9pm.
CODE NOT VALID
Please try again or contact support.
A 17-year-old ewe has successfully had her sixteenth lamb, according to her owner Ray Gunning from Portacloy, Co Mayo.
"She’s a 17-year-old Suffolk. I originally got her as a pet lamb for my daughter when she was 10," Gunning told the Irish Farmers Journal.
"We keep about 125 sheep, but I've never heard of one living to 17, let alone having a healthy lamb!"
The ewe has been called Betty Boo by Gunning's daughter, and the family believe it'll be Betty's last lamb on the farm.
Betty Boo and her lamb.
"The ewe has been mollycoddled all her life, there's no way I'll be allowed to cull her. She doesn't have any teeth left but we give her special feed and she's housed every winter," Gunning said.
"We were hoping she would have a ewe lamb because we think this will be her last lamb, but she had a ram lamb. Her ram lambs always sell very well for me for breeding."
If you would like to speak to a member of our team, please call us on 01-4199525.
Link sent to your email address
We have sent an email to your address. Please click on the link in this email to reset your password. If you can't find it in your inbox, please check your spam folder. If you can't find the email, please call us on 01-4199525.
ENTER YOUR LOYALTY CODE:
The reader loyalty code gives you full access to the site from when you enter it until the following Wednesday at 9pm. Find your unique code on the back page of Irish Country Living every week.
SHARING OPTIONS