Stumpy the sheep dwarf gives birth to normal lambs

A dwarf sheep in New Zealand which gave birth to twin lambs has stumped its Scargill Valley owner. One of the twins died this week, but the romney and halfbred cross ewe appears to be looking after its remaining offspring with no evidence of passing on a dwarf gene.

Foxdown farm owner Andy Fox said this was the first time he had seen a sheep with "corgi legs" before. "It's a funny looking sheep and I have never seen a dwarf sheep before with a full-size body and funny legs. We were never sure if its babies would be right, but they were normal."



Fox's partner Kath Standage was the first to see the two-tooth ewe, nicknamed Stumpy, born two years ago. "I think (Andy) thought at first I was mad. Here was a townie girl telling him one of his ewes had mated with a corgi. I don't think he believed me until tailing time in the yard. When she was pregnant she really was waddly with her stomach on the ground and little legs paddling."

Standage said the brave ewe had earned its keep by producing twins in its first mating even if one of them failed to survive. Fox said Stumpy had no problem surviving as its patient mother would wait until its progeny had feed before catching up with the rest of the flock. "I own 4500 ewes and they have a life of about five years. So every 10 years I would see 20,000 sheep and I have never seen another dwarf sheep before."