Sunday, February 25, 2007

5 legged lamb

OSAWATOMIE, Kan. -- A five-legged lamb was born last week in Miami County, Kan.

The lamb, which is owned by the Evans family in Osawatomie, has a fifth leg sticking out of its abdomen; the leg has a bone in it.

"Isn't this the weirdest thing you've ever seen?" Michelle Evans said. "We didn't know if it would walk, but it got right up and it's doing great."
The lamb mostly drags its extra leg around the pen it shares with its mom and twin.

Evans said after the lamb was born, she called the people who sold her the ewes to ask them about it.

"'Has this ever happened to you before?' They're like, 'No, it hasn't,'" Evans said.

She said she had hoped her sons could show the sheep at the county fair, but the five-legged lamb probably won't be shown.

The lamb's mother appears to love it, regardless of its uniqueness.

"One in a million. The lottery would've been good, but we got a five-legged sheep -- that's something," Evans said.

The veterinarian told the family that if the lamb lives for a week, it will probably survive. Then, they'll have to decide what to do about the extra leg.

Evans' husband, Josh, teaches agriculture at Paola High School. The couple has six boys to help care for the lamb.

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