The farmer, whose family has been raising sheep for generations, told the Irish Farmers Journal: “I’ve never seen anything like him before.”
It is thought that geep, who does not yet have a name, was the result of mating between a goat and one of Mr Murphy’s sheep.
He said that the cute creature was doing well despite his rather unusual heritage and that he seemed to have been blessed with being particularly speedy.
Mr Murphy said that the cross-breeding was unintentional and that when he had a goat mating with some of the sheep on his farm he had not given it a second thought.
On the rare occasion that this sort of cross-breeding occurs, geep are rarely born live, according to a spokeswoman for the Ulster Farmers Union.
The geep’s mother treats him just like a lamb [BBC]
Mr Murphy said that the geep’s mother was raising the animal just like her other lambs even though it was starting to develop a set of horns.
The sheep farmer said that he did not plan to send the geep off to the slaughterhouse but would hold on to for as long as practically possible – and even planned to find a name for the new pet.
(via Express)
