antur cymuned brithdir mawr cyfyngedig
Sir Benfro
We have always had working horses on site. A family of four coloured gypsy cobs
were rescued and brought here, with hopes of training up the two youngsters to
take over. The two parents have retired and moved elsewhere and training has
begun on the other two so that they can help us with carting, wood extraction
and other jobs. We also have four dairy goats, a good flock of chickens and
ducks as well as three rowdy geese. We currently have one colony of bees after
not having a bee keeper for a couple of years, we’re hoping to increase this
over the next couple of years. There are compromises involved in any animal
farming system and we try to meet these in an ethical manner that everyone can
agree with. We have cats to keep the rodents in check and some of us have dogs.
The land is fantastic for wildlife, we have a huge range of residents including
badgers, foxes, owls, dormice, bats, buzzards, frogs and newts. We probably have
less animals in total than most farms, but we look at our animals differently to
most farms. All the stock is free-range and what we ask of them seems to us a
fair exchange for their food, security and comfort. We milk our nanny goats
morning and evening, which is enough for all the goat milk drinkers plus enough
extra from Spring until Autumn to make fresh cheese. The chickens have a large
enclosure where they are free-range and they produce enough eggs in the longer
days for all our needs. The ducks are Khaki Campbells, highly trained
slug-killers, which patrol the organic gardens keeping them relatively
pest-free. The dogs and cats are family pets, but their very presence around the
yard tends to keep foxes and other predators away from the poultry. We rent some
of our land for short periods to local farmers to graze their animals. We raise
geese to graze the orchards and to generate a bit of income by selling young
birds. Many of us eat meat which is produced as a by-product of the milk and
eggs, that is to say excess billy goats, cockerels and ganders. We have been
keeping sheep in recent years for meat, although we don’t currently have any at
the moment but are looking into how we can better managed our grassland to
produce meat. One of our members also keeps pigs, they are used to clear land
for vegetable growing and used to graze wider areas for conservation. They are
fed on organic grain grown in Pembrokeshire and waste whey from a local
cheesemaker, and occasional brewers grains from a local brewery as well as fresh
organic fruit and veg waste from local shops. In general communal meals are
vegetarian but when we do eat meat there is normally a vegetarian / vegan
option.
