BEA-EWE-TIFUL NEWBORNS.

Byline: Andrea Damewood The Register-Guard

CORVALLIS - Grouches beware. In this barn, cute lurks in every corner.

Hundreds of adorable lambs and their mothers are everywhere, nursing, nuzzling and climbing.

The cute in this place increases exponentially - at least a dozen or so of the tiny woolly babies are born daily through the end of lambing season on April 6.

Visitors flock - up to 10,000 in one month - to Oregon State University's sheep research station west of Corvallis to get their dose of preciousness and witness young ones coming into the world.

And on a recent sunny afternoon, a ewe with a number 2 on her back delivered - three times over.

Behind a fence, placed there to keep away other ewes that sometimes try to steal newborns, the mother lay down and brought a little black lamb into the world, to a chorus of "aawww."

Another came shortly after, and finally, a third.

At about 20 minutes old, a pair of the siblings tried walking, rising up on their wobbly legs, as the crowd chanted "Will they do it? Will they do it?"

Nope: The two tumbled down on top of one another, soliciting yet more cooing from their adoring audience.

The trio was the 23rd set of triplets to be born since the beginning of March, said Tom Nichols, manager of the OSU sheep center.

Triple and quadruple births are a rarity, as most sheep are equipped to nurse just two babies at once, he said. Should she be unable to produce enough milk, one lamb will be raised through bottle feeding.

The OSU barn is part of research in breeding Polypay sheep, which are known for having larger birth numbers, with Suffolk sheep, which tend to have just one lamb per pregnancy.

The university maintains its flock with an eye toward enhancing the sheep-producing industry, studying improvements in reproductive techniques in the ewes and monitoring growth rates of the lambs.

Ewes are pregnant for about five months, said Amanda Bellando, a veterinary technician student at Linn-Benton Community College, who works weekends helping with deliveries.

The timing of the births depends on "when we put in the rams in the fall," so the amorous sheep are brought together at varying times to allow for new arrivals each day.

Eugene resident Nikki Hallenbeck, 12, said she'd seen some births on television, but the lambing was a new experience for her.

"The babies are really cute," she said. "It's fun to watch them walk for the first time, because they fall."

For others, visiting the center has been a family ritual for years.

Albany resident Deloris Perlenfein said she brought her children, who are now grown, to see the births every spring break. On Sunday, she stood with her grandsons, ages 2 and 4, on their inaugural trip to the barn.

"It's fun to bring my grandsons here and start a new tradition," Perlenfein said. "It's just a fun thing for the kids to do."

LAMBING SEASON

Where: 7565 N.W. Oak Creek Drive west of Corvallis.

When: Through April 6. Public viewing from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.

Info: To schedule large groups or for more information, call [phone].