We are passionate about helping the rare breeds of wild and farm animals. In the latter area Richard and Barbara are both members of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, and committee members of the Devon Support Group of the RBST. Richard joined the council of the RBST Nov 2007.

The estate has about 120 breeding rare breed ewes, from a starter flock of just 12 originally. With the rams and growing lambs / hoggets the number raise to about 350 maximum within a year. The sheep are kept to help the breed, and for conservation purposes. Excess stock is sold to help other people become breeders, for conservation grazing or sold for meat. The flock is predominantly Manx Loaghtan and Hebridean , with a few Shetlands and Jacobs. In formal terms the Hebridean are no longer rare.

Peter Hayford and I have acquired some rare breed Derbyshire Redcap chickens. There are only a couple of hundred left, so we running a breeding programme. Two or three people locally have taken some offspring from our group, so the numbers are swelling.