- One of the ewes at Sarah Polner’s garden gave birth to a lamb so tiny he could fit into her hands.
- Despite his low survival rate, Sarah and her family made sure to keep him alive and happy.
- The tiny lamb, now named Wally, has since put on more weight and is healthy enough to roam around the farm.
A flock of sheep has found a home in Ben and Sarah Pohlner’s small market garden, in Victoria, Australia.
Sarah shared that the sheep serve as their “cleanup crew” by eating the weeds and vegetable scraps, so they don’t have to use herbicides or pesticides for their seasonal produce.
Among the flock are 10 ewes, who birthed a total of 16 lambs this year.
Sarah also works at a local hospital as a trained midwife, so she helps the ewes give birth.
One lamb, however, was born so tiny that Sarah didn’t notice him at first. She had even mistaken him for afterbirth residue — until he started moving.
Unlike the tiny lamb, now named Wally, his twin was healthy and of normal size.
Here’s Wally beside a soda can for comparison:
Even Wally’s mother left him to fend for himself and wandered off with his healthy twin.
Weighing just about 2 pounds, Wally comfortably fit into Sarah’s hands. The normal weight for a healthy newborn lamb is between 6 and 11 pounds.
Sarah just couldn’t leave the poor lamb alone. She brought him to the warm indoors where the whole family, including their three daughters, helped feed him regularly through a syringe.
Wally has since put on more weight and is healthy enough to join his human caretakers at their farm stand and greet shoppers.
Sadly, Wally recently went blind after developing a mysterious eye condition.
His human parents have driven him to several eye specialists to help regain his sight. He has an eye surgery scheduled, and the whole community is cheering for him.
Little Wally has been through so much, but he’s still as cheerful as ever. He loves playing, running, and jumping around everywhere.
Wally is blind as a bat right now but doesn’t appear to be in any distress. Still loves the jumping game – this was last night and he wouldn’t stop jumping for like an hour after Georgia played with him. Not great for a lamb who cannot see! A few spills but he is fine. He is at the vet again this morning. Will keep you updated.
Posted by Volcano Produce -Tower Hill on Monday, August 9, 2021
Whatever happened and will happen, he was born to a loving family who will always cherish him.
You can see more of Wally’s adventures on Volcano Produce’s Facebook page.
Source: The Dodo