Two-legged lamb saved from the chop

Tender-hearted sheep farmer Cui Jinxiu has saved this extraordinary lamb from the chop after he was born with just two legs. Sheepish Cui, 38, says she would normally have killed the youngster at birth, but was so impressed by his struggle to survive she began to hand-rear him.



"He was so determined to live he pulled himself up onto his own two feet and started drinking his mother's milk. I couldn't let him die," said Cui at her farm in Shangdong province, eastern China. Now the baaamy young lamb - who weighed in at just 11 lbs when he was born - and Cui are inseparable.

"He may only have two legs but he gets around very quickly and is pretty steady on his feet. He follows me everywhere and I haven't got the heart to slaughter him. "After all, half my profit is missing anyway," she laughed.



Vets have told the farmer that the birth defect could have been a genetic throwback or the result of chemical pollution. "He doesn't mind. He has such a friendly personality and I don't think he even realises he's disabled," said Cui.