Latest news with #AshleyRice
CBC
11-05-2025
- General
- CBC
'Rare' quintuplet lamb birth awes Saanich community ahead of Mother's Day
Social Sharing While dogs and cats are known to have large liters, sheep not so much. So when Ashley Rice returned to Prohibition Vineyards in Saanich to find five lambs with her ewe Abagail, she was shocked. Rice had just finished picking up her children from school and running errands when she decided to check on Abagail in the pasture, knowing she was pregnant and about to be giving birth soon. "We knew Abagail was our last sheep. We were waiting for her to have her babies, everyone else had their babies like a month ago," said Rice. After driving to the pasture, her son Jackon said, "look, three lambs!" Her daughter Scarlett followed up with, "look, four lambs!" When Rice went in for a head count, she said she was astonished to find five lambs. At first, the kids didn't believe her when she told them how many there were, she told CBC's All Point West in laughter. With her husband and farmhand away, Rice reached out to her neighbour, Sidney, for help. The pair scooped up the lambs and took them to the lamb pen for safety from ravens and eagles. Rice said the lambs are healthy and in good shape, but this litter has been smaller in size compared to previous ones. She said an attachment has grown and the lambs are being monitored regularly to support their health. "All of them are super healthy, no birth defects. They are all starting to jump around and the mom is just being super, putting up with lots of shenanigans in the pen," she said. In another sheep quintuplet birth story two years ago in Salmon Arm, B.C., a sheep researcher at the University of Guelph, Cathy Bauman, said that sheep only have two teats, so caring for more than two lambs at a time can be difficult for the mothers. Rice said extra effort is being put into caring for the lambs, given their special birth story. One lamb was on the bottle for a few days but has since rejected it and is starting to gain weight, so things are hopeful and looking good for the litter, she said. Bauman said sheep quintuplets are quite rare. She keeps a herd of sheep herself and has witnessed many births over the years. Five lambs from an ewe would be a surprise, said Bauman. Rice said that her children have been especially excited to see the lambs outside in the pen each day, and the sheep community in Saanich has been regularly checking in on the babies, rooting for their success and offering the family advice. The lambs will be ready to go out with the rest of the pasture this coming week, said Rice. "Everyone is appreciating the sweet, happy story and we appreciate it too — it draws light on farming and the sheep," she said, noting not a lot people farm the animals on Vancouver Island.
CTV News
03-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Sheep gives birth to extremely rare quintuplets on winery in Victoria, B.C.
A ewe has given birth to five lambs at Prohibition Winery in Victoria, B.C. A particularly fertile ewe is bringing fame to a soon-to-be-opened winery in Victoria, B.C., after delivering extremely rare quintuplet lambs. When Ashley Rice left her heavily pregnant ewe on the grounds of Prohibition Winery to collect her two children from school, the animal was wandering away from the flock and was preparing, Rice had guessed, to give birth. With labour often taking up to a day and the school run taking less than an hour, she never expected she would be returning home to find a tiny mob of five bleating lambs. 'It was quite shocking. It was shocking for the kids. It was shocking for my husband. It was shocking for the sheeping community. Our lamb shearer that does all the sheep on the island, she was completely shocked,' says Rice. The babies had been cleaned by their mother and were already tottering around the pasture as Rice returned, marking record time for a childbirth of twins or triplets, let alone five. 'The whole thing happened so fast,' she says. Often, with multiple deliveries, birthing issues can arise, but in this case there hasn't been a single complication or birth defect. The babies are 'super healthy and happy,' and the parents, Abigail and the rampant ram Fro, nicknamed 'stud muffin,' are doing just fine, says Rice. 'We're really blessed and grateful,' she says. The lambs are now three days old and are already enjoying their life on the pasture, learning how to hop, climbing on one another and pestering their mother. One is slightly smaller than their four siblings, and Rice and her husband are monitoring it significantly, but there is no cause for concern, she assures – what the lamb lacks in stature, she more than makes up for in personality. 'She's probably the feistiest of the bunch,' says Rice. Typically, only the ewes and the rams on the farm are given names, as Rice fears getting too attached to the babies. This time, however, she's letting her kids chip in with ideas as she plans to keep the group of five until November, when they come of age and are ready to be relocated. Rice, who moved onto the farm and vineyard with her husband four years ago, says there had only ever been plans to care for grapes and a winery, but they had fallen 'in love with the sheep' and so they made it work despite the extra labour. 'Having five ewes and a ram is already a lot to care for,' she laughs. Appetite to see the quintet has been strong among friends and family and, with the winery coincidentally set to open its doors officially this weekend, Rice is expecting to see plenty of familiar faces as people drop by hoping to catch a glimpse of the newborns. For those hoping to keep up to date with the lambs from afar, Rice says she will be documenting their growth, recording as their personalities develop, and posting updates to her Instagram account and to the winery's website.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Yahoo
‘Thank God somebody reported': Parents react to Ponderosa High School bomb threat
PARKER, Colo. (KDVR) — Parents are reacting to the Ponderosa High School threat after a student brought an alleged explosive device to school and now could be facing attempted first-degree murder, among other charges. 'I did get a cell phone notification from the school letting us know that they had placed the school on hold because there was a student who was needing additional support,' said Ashley Rice, mother to a Ponderosa sophomore, about Tuesday's events. 'Got a second call, that they were going through evacuation mode due to the potential bomb threat that was there.' Ponderosa High School student facing attempted murder for 'explosive device' On Tuesday, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said a school resource officer found a suspected improvised explosive device in the backpack of a 15-year-old male student after a threat was reported through Safe2Tell. 'Thank God somebody reported the Safe2Tell. If it was real, what were the intentions? This could have been much more serious than it was,' said Rice. 'You know your child is going in there, you know anything could happen. Tomorrow isn't promised for any of us… You just hope that good kids report, call Safe2Tell. There's more good kids out there, there's more good than all the scary stuff.' On Thursday, the agency announced that a 15-year-old male was being held with no bond and deputies were recommending charges to the district attorney's office of: Attempted first-degree murder Possession, use or removal of explosives or incendiary devices Interference with staff, faculty or students of educational institutions Safe2Tell implements new monthly reporting method as reports continue rising trend 'My heart goes out to the parents of that student. Parent of adolescence… they do crazy things sometimes and I know that family is going through some challenges too,' said Rice. 'We definitely came home and had a family conversation and I think when we found out it was real, the tears kind of started flowing. My son was… it definitely hit him.' Rice was a Douglas County high school student when the Columbine shooting happened in 1999. 'The world forever changed after that. The way schools handled emergencies changed. As a parent, you hear it on the news, you think, oh, this is in another town, this is in another place, and then when it's here, it's so real,' said Rice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
