our breeds
Belted Galloway Cattle
Belted Galloways are a native hardy breed that like to be outdoors, eating grass and browsing the hedges. They do well on little and so do not need supplementary feeding by man-made commercial feed. Because we keep our stocking levels low, everything the cattle need comes naturally from our land, free from pesticides and fertilisers. The land gives the cattle what they need and in return, the cattle naturally fertilise the land, spread wildflower seeds and tread them in to the soil. It is a symbiotic process, with the only input from ourselves being that we rotate them around the fields in a Holistic Planned Grazing way. We do not vaccinate our cattle as we test their blood and faeces and will treat the animals individually if required. As of yet, thankfully, all our cattle are doing well and a free from all disease and worms. They will only receive antibiotics if it is essential to their safety. As Socrates once said “let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”, I believe this applies to our animals as well as us. As the wildflowers and herbs grow in the fields and become forage for our cattle, this will all help to maintain healthy and strong immune systems.
Gloucestershire Old Spot Pigs
The Gloucestershire Old Spot is a rare breed heritage pig and is on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list. They are a hardy breed and able to cope with most conditions. Our girls, spend their time outdoors, rooting around in the pasture and snoozing in their arc when the weather is too miserable outside. We practice rotational grazing with our pigs so they have fresh pasture and grass and new areas to dig up each week. They are reared on organic food free from chemicals and antibiotics and every day they get a mix of vegetables and fruit.
Manx Loaghtan Sheep
These are a primitive breed of sheep that is on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list. They are a small breed of sheep that are good at conservation grazing and browsing and like our cattle need very little input. The Manx are a slow growing breed and are known for their excellent quality meat as hogget and mutton. Even though they have plenty of fresh food available, I do treat them to organic grass pellets so that they know me and are happy for me to be close to them and handle them as and when I need to.