Ginny is one of two female lambs that were born at Essex Tech on Monday, April 6. (Courtesy Photo Essex Tech) 
Lambert, center, gave birth to two female lambs on Monday. Potter, back, was born on Wednesday. (Courtesy Photo Essex Tech) 
Two female lambs, Ginny, top, and Hermione, bottom, were born on Monday at Essex Tech. (Courtesy Photo Essex Tech) 
Potter, a male lamb, was born on Wednesday at Essex Tech. (Courtesy Photo Essex Tech) 
A mother sheep, Eweminem, top, gave birth to two male lambs on Wednesday. Two female lambs, Ginny, bottom left, and Hermione, right, were born Monday. (Courtesy Photo Essex Tech)
DANVERS — Even as the daily routines of many across the world have come to a halt amid the COVID-19 pandemic, life for farm animals at Essex Tech has gone on as always, including the birth of lambs on the campus this week.
A sheep named Lambert birthed two female lambs, Hermione and Ginny, on Monday, April 6 between 5 and 6 a.m., and a sheep named Eweminem birthed two male lambs, Weasley and Potter on Wednesday, April 8 between 5 and 6 a.m.
“I’d like to thank the staff who have kept tending and watching over our animals here at Essex Tech, even in the unique situation we’re facing today with the COVID-19 pandemic,” Superintendent Riccio said. “We’re thankful to see that the lambs are healthy, and look forward to the arrival of several other lambs in the coming days.”
The school anticipates there will be between 15 and 20 lambs born in total over the next week or two.
The sheep typically do not need veterinary assistance when giving birth to their lambs, but staff at Essex Tech have been on campus to monitor, feed and oversee the animals, while practicing social distancing and taking necessary precautions to reduce risk of exposure to COVID-19. The school will be closed to students, faculty and non-essential staff until at least May 4 due to the novel coronavirus, and has been closed since mid-March.
Those overseeing the lambs and sheep have included Supervisor of Farm and Grounds Wesley Leavitt and farmhands Alyssa Hajek-Jones and Jason Girard. The school also has remote cameras that allow staff to monitor the animals. When the school is open, the veterinary technician and companion animal career technical education programs also work closely with the animals.
“While unfortunately students aren’t on campus this year to see the lambs themselves, I’d like to recognize our co-op students who have been involved in this process for the past several months,” Leavitt said. “These students include Sunny Marcus, a senior vet tech student, Dylan Elms, a senior environmental tech student and Emily Eberhardt, a junior vet tech student.”
###
Discover more from John Guilfoil Public Relations
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.