'It's amazing': Lethbridge farmer shocked by birth of rare quintuplet lambs

A southern Alberta farmer says one of his ewes gave birth to five lambs - an incredible rare event.

Ken Leenstra was beyond surprised when he had realized that one of his ewes gave birth to five baby lambs on May 5.

"My wife came running over and she says, 'you have four', and then I came back later and said, 'no we don't, we have five'," Leenstra told CTV News on Friday.

"It's just crazy. It's amazing."

Leenstra owns a farm over on the west side of Lethbridge near Westside Drive.

He and a friend purchased the animals last spring to give them something new and exciting to do.

"We decided we were going to do something crazy and raise some sheep," said Leenstra.

"It was just because of COVID, we couldn't do anything else so we thought we'd do some sheep farming."

Leenstra went on to say that once they realized one of the sheep they’d purchased was pregnant, they knew she was getting big, but weren't prepared for what was in store.

The odds of an ewe having quintuplets are already insurmountable, let alone all the babies and mom surviving.

"I heard right away, as soon as I sent a picture to somebody, that this is a one in a million chance," he said.

"It's pretty exciting. Everybody loves to come and hold them."

When it comes to what happens next, Leenstra says it was a no-brainer.

"We're going to keep them as pets for about the next year or so. Then we'll sell them and move them on and get some more next year."

After their first week, all five lambs are healthy and he, along with his family, are excited to keep the little fluff balls around for the next year.