Five-legged lamb born at Whitehouse farm
6 April BBC
A lamb has been born with five legs at a farm in Northumberland.Named
Quinto by staff at Whitehouse Farm Centre in Morpeth, it was among three
born on Sunday.The additional front limb is fully formed and does not
appear to be causing the animal any problems, according to manager
Heather Hogarty.
Ms Hogarty said a vet was due to assess Quinto in the next day or so
and a decision made whether or not to amputate her extra leg.
Quinto has quickly become one of the star attractions at the farm,
which also features llamas, wallabies and meerkats. Ms Hogarty, who has
run the farm's visitor centre for 16 years, said: "We've never come
across anything like this before and neither has anyone we've spoken
to.She's doing absolutely fine at the moment and does not appear to have
suffered any adverse effects from being born with an extra leg. "It
looks like it's fully formed, although it's a bit limp in the middle of
her lower body.As she was being born we just thought it was one of the
front legs in an awkward position.She and her two sisters are a very
healthy weight.Having five legs isn't stopping her running about even
though it's about the same size as the other legs.
She is definitely the most unusual birth we've had here.We've asked
the vet to have a look at her and we would expect the extra leg to be
amputated. But that should be straight forward and shouldn't affect her
health too much."Sam Prescott, director of Robson and Prescott
Veterinary Centre in Morpeth, said: "It is certainly rare but we will
see mutations of different sorts and always have done.
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