By MANUEL VALDES

Associated Press

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) -- A 3-year-old ewe in Washington state has done something that rarely happens: she gave birth to a litter of seven lambs.

Colleen Peck's Finnsheep ewe, Trina, gave birth to the unusually large brood at the end of March. Trina and the four little males and three females are healthy.

American Finnsheep Breeders' Association acting secretary Herb Tucker says such a feat has only been recorded twice in the United States. He says the all-time record is nine, but that happened in Finland, where the Finnsheep originate.

Peck says Finnsheep are known for having three or four lambs at a time, but she was surprised when the lambs kept popping out of Trina.

Peck keeps Finnsheep at her Snoqualmie, Wash., property as pets but sells their wool occasionally.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.