'Hulk the lamb' weighs in at double expected size after birth at Shropshire farm
Lambing always brings surprises down on the farm - but the surprise to greet Chris Jones when one of his ewes gave birth was larger than most.
For the newborn that had to be delivered by caesarean section weighed a staggering 23lbs, more than twice the expected size of about 10lbs.
Hulk the lamb was born in the early hours of Wednesday morning after his mum went into labour at the smallholding of Katie and Chris Jones just outside Oswestry.
Chris, who combines his building work with looking about about 50 sheep, soon realised that the lamb was so big the ewe wouldn't be about to give birth naturally and called the vet.
"He took it to the vets who did a caesarean and only then did then realised just how big the lamb was," Katie said.
"He is doing really well being looked after by the ewe."
On the other end of the scale, the smallest lamb that has arrived in the flock is Tiny Tim, one of twins, who weighed in at just 4lbs.
"The little ones need some extra milk from the bottle at first but he is now just on his mother's milk," Katie said.
The couple have extra help looking after the lambs from their daughters, nine-year-old Isabella and seven-year-old Abigail.
"They are very good helping us but it is Chris who is doing most of the work," added Katie.
"At the moment he has to get up every couple of hours in the night to help some of the lambs feed and of course then their are the ones giving birth.
"His grandad was a farmer and he always wanted animals. He has built our home from just a piece of land over the past 15 years."
