OUR FARM ANIMALS
We are very proud of our beautiful animals here at Berllan. We have a small flock of hens who give us the most wonderful prize-winning eggs in a variety of colours, very rare Large Black pigs and even rarer Old English goats, plus three horses, one of whom is learning to work on the farm.
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Large Blacks are the UK's only totally black breed of pig and are classed as "Priority" by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. With under 200 registered breeding sows they are rarer than giant pandas, and we are doing our little bit to help them survive. They have large paddocks and snug housing, plus a large double stable with attached yard for farrowing. They are docile despite their large size, and Blodeuwedd, Cerridwen and Bran the boar are very friendly and love a good back scratch!
Esme, Effie and Ezra are exceedingly rare Old English Goats. These are the original cottager's goat and are the only breed which is totally adapted to the British climate (Esme and Effie's dam was a wild goat from Devon). With only around 100 breeding females these are the rarest British goat, and we hope to have kids in the spring. Ezra is a wether (castrate), so can't help the girls out so we hire in a billy. The three of them work hard maintaining our rare lowland rhôs pasture.
All of our animals are given as much freedom to express their natural behaviours as possible. The pigs have paddocks with grass and wallows to enjoy; the hens have a large pen, are let out to free range around the farm, and have a cockerel to encourage natural flock dynamics. We are very conscious of the environmental impact of animal feed, so only use that made from British ingredients, sourced as locally as possible with no imported soya.
More information on our pigs can be found at Black Orchard Large Blacks, and on our chickens at Our Chickens.
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