Farm celebrates birth of rare goat quadruplets

A Surrey farm is celebrating the "very rare" birth of goat quadruplets for the first time in 40 years.

Godstone Farm welcomed three male kids and one female on 4 April, making it the first quadruplet birth since the farm started breeding goats.

Estimates suggest that quadruplets are born in just 2% of births with this breed of goat, according to general manager Simon Ingram.

Mr Ingram told Radio Surrey that the births made it a "really exciting time" for the farm.

He added: "They are about a week-and-a-half old now and are getting lively, jumping up on things and climbing on their mother's back.

"They are a really fun, inquisitive, curious type of goat.

"We like to name the goats after members of our team so we are waiting to get an idea of their personality so we can match them to an appropriate member of the team."

The four Boer goats are "thriving and all doing fantastically" alongside their mother, Mr Ingram added.

He said the goats weighed around 3kg when they were born but grow very quickly and were now getting on their feet and jumping around.

The farm employs a livestock team which looks after the goats 24 hours a day to ensure that they get the best care.

Nicola Henderson, chief executive at Godstone Farm, said: "While twins are relatively common, and triplets are not uncommon, the birth of four kids is considered a statistically rare event.

"We're delighted to see their Mum thriving in her busy role and my thanks go to our wonderful livestock team who have been monitoring the new arrivals night and day to ensure they have the very best care."

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