A Southland farmer has come up with a novel way to transport sick and orphaned lambs, thanks to some Kiwi ingenuity.
The 'Lambulance' is the brainchild of Bradley Stewart, who farms at Wreys Bush, near Winton.
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He came up with the idea as a solution to the large number of lambs needing help.
"The farm has a high number of triplets and quads, so it's a really safe way of transporting them around the farm," says Mr Stewart.
The Lambulance is used to help in the care for lost and ill lambs, as well as lambs whose mothers don't have sufficient milk as they maybe triplets or quads.
The 400 hectare farm runs TEFrom ewes, a breed known for their multiple births.
While the Lambulance is a fun concept, it achieves the serious task of keeping stress levels down for the lambs and ewes.
"We raise up to 300 orphans a year, hence giving then a better start to life and trying to farm with animal welfare in mind," says Mr Stewart.
Many of the ewes will raise the multiple lambs, but Mr Stewart thinks hand-raising the lambs is a more ethical system.
The Lambulance is the second fun way to transport farm animals to get attention recently.
A Taupo farmer's photo of his sheep hitching a ride in the front seat of his farm vehicle made media headlines earlier this year.
Josh Jackson was trying to herd a sheep and didn't want his woolly friend getting scared off by his dogs, so he decided to let it ride shotgun in his Polaris Ranger.
The image shows a rather smug looking sheep perched in the front seat along with two dogs in the back - one curiously eyeing the lucky sheep in front.
"It was a long way for her to walk to sheep yards so I gave her a ride," Mr Jackson said.
Newshub.
