Domesticated Livestock and Wildlife
Whilst nature takes the lead at Brimwood Farm, livestock is still an important aspect of farm life. Animals are used in the larger maintenance of the site to crop, graze, scrape and bash as their native ancestors may have done. Sheep and goats nibble and graze grass, often with the benefit of opening up the ground below for wild native plants to appear. Pigs furrow and turn over turf, uncovering the hidden seed bed. A patch of chalky ground traditionally full of ragwort was first grazed by sheep and then turned over by pigs; the result is that hundreds of orchids have now appeared. And whilst wild deer do provide some benefits of snapping branches, coppicing a few saplings and ensuring the entire site doesn’t turn to bramble scrub, I hope to bring in larger herbivores such as cattle and ponies in the future.
LIVESTOCK
The emphasis at Brimwood Farm is to focus, where possible, on native rare breeds and, in particular, those local to the area. There is a small herd of Large Black pigs consisting of four sows and a boar. This breed is native to East Anglia, slow growing and tall! No low slung bellies here. The breed spends more time grazing than rooting which means though there are areas of destruction (a necessary process when creating new habitats and ecosystems) they do not do vast amounts of damage.
Norfolk Horns make up the rare breed sheep on site, accompanied by a few friendly Jacob sheep kept mainly for their fleece. Norfolk Horns - a once extremely endangered rare breed and brought from the very brink - are the ancestral parent of sheep such as the large, domesticated and commercially used Suffolk. Black heads and legs, with a thick white woollen fleece give them a smart looking character and though originally quite deer like, modern Norfolk Horns are stockier and heavier individuals. East Anglia, well known for its historic wool trade, would have been full of sheep such as the Norfolk Horn in times gone by.
Though they do not have a huge impact on the landscape (in fact they cannot be completely free-roaming due to predation), there are also several rare breed varieties of poultry and waterfowl, including Ixworth chickens and Silver Appleyard ducks (both developed by Sir Reginald Appleyard of Ixworth), Norfolk Greys, Maran bantams and Ebden geese. A variety of ornamental pheasants are also kept and bred - Golden Pheasant, Silver Pheasant, Reeves Pheasant, Grey Peacock Pheasant and Lady Amhurst Pheasant to name a few - simply for their stunning vibrancy and colours. You can see all the hatching eggs available here.
Rare breed meat is available directly for the farm or local farmers markets. Piglets and lambs are also readily available. Please contact for more details including cost, pedigree and availability.
WILDLIFE
Wildlife at Brimwood Farm comes first. The traditional process of creating habitat for a certain species is not adopted. Instead, nature is allowed to reclaim the land using the livestock to shape it. This method has allowed animals to recolonise the areas that suit their needs, rather than humans developing habitat areas in order to bring certain species. As a result there are nesting owls, turtle doves and nightingales. There are great clouds of butterflies and moths. Badgers and Foxes co-habit a den/sett. Fallen logs and deadwood become resting and basking areas for species such as grass snake and common lizards, whilst the thatch is teeming with voles, shrews and other rodents.
For more information on how you can help support this nature recovery, see here.
