TRUMBULL, Conn. (AP) _ Lily had a little lamb. And then another, and another after that. And thanks in part to their births March 4, the Trumbull Agriscience and Biotechnology Center is celebrating a bumper crop of little lambs born this year to six of the school's ewes.

In all, 13 lambs _ some black, some black and white _ are helping to broaden the experience of students in the interdistrict school's animal science program, as they chart the gestation and newborns' progress and learn about an important industry.

Aubrey Sears, of Trumbull, and Alyssa Monroe, of Stratford, both juniors, were at the school March 2 for feeding chores when one of the ewes _ all except Lily are nameless _ suddenly delivered twins about 9 p.m. with nary an advance sign.

The mother ``was standing up and the baby just plopped out,'' Monroe recalled, and the other quickly followed. ``

I thought she was dead, she was crumpled,'' Sears said.

``It was amazing, but just hectic,'' Monroe said of the experience.

The students ran for warm blankets to clean the newborns and warm them up. Not all the newborn lambs get such immediate care, as they arrive with no humans nearby.

But heat lamps provide warmth, and the new moms provide cleanup to the best of their ability.

Lily isn't the only one with triplets this year. Two other ewes also had three lambs each.

But Lily's triplets brought up the rear among the season's births. And she's experienced with multiple births.

``She had triplets last year,'' said teacher Thomas Piekarski. ``And in 2006 she had twins.''

The newborn lambs have diverse destinies.

``Some will stay,'' he said, explaining they will join the ranks of the center's mothers in a year or two. ``Some will get sold to the students. Some will go to market.''

Piekarski said that a reproduction rate of two is considered industry standard. This year's crop represents history for the center, which is celebrating a 217 percent reproduction rate, the first time it has gone over the 200 percent mark.

While it is partially genetic _ one ewe gave birth to only one lamb _ there are steps experts can take to promote a higher yield.

For example, Piekarski said, ewes have a tendency to produce more eggs as the cycling season proceeds, meaning later breeding is more likely to result in multiple births.

And sometimes, he said, increasing a ewe's feed as the season progresses will psychologically affect their ability to produce more eggs, giving them the comfort that they will be better able to nurse them.

For Sears, the chance to work with the lambs is a chance to experience life as it may be if she works with her sister on a ranch someday.

Evthoxia Moustakas, a senior from Stratford who plans to become a teacher, said she got a lamb last year to go with a collection of other animals at her Stratford home, including sheep and llamas.

``She had her own baby this year,'' Moustakas said.

Chelsea Fuller, a junior from Trumbull, has her baby ram picked out, one she has already named ``Moo'' for his black and white color, reminiscent of a cow.

And she is looking forward to seeing him grow.

``You're having a baby,'' she said, ``without the pain.''

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)