Busby of Nelson - is he our oldest sheep?

Busby the sheep, who is thriving on a Nelson hilltop, might well be New Zealand's oldest. The Texel-Romney cross wether is estimated by his owners, Barry and Lynley Bird, to be 24 years-old, measured against the ages of their now adult children who rescued him as a lamb. Busby and his twin, who died some years ago, were rescued as orphans off Lynley's brother's farm in the Wairarapa. They arrived in Nelson in the back of the family car, and were re-settled on the Bird's four-hectare lifestyle block a few minutes' north of the city. Busby went into mourning when his paddock mate died last year, so he was presented with a new friend, called No-Name. Now the pair frolick together through orchards, dining on bread and feijoa for breakfast, and snacking on the sweet persimmon that drop from the trees. Our Nelson-Marlborough reporter Tracy Neal dropped by with her camera to chat with Barry and Lynley, and to meet Busby: