We live in a world that treats death as failure. We see it differently.

Life and death are partners, not opposites. Our animals are free to live, reproduce, and age naturally. We focus on prevention — good nutrition, clean conditions, and regular vaccinations and deworming. We treat injuries and illness, and consult vets when needed. But when treatment only prolongs suffering, we stop. That's not neglect — it's respect for an animal's dignity and for the limits of life.

Death on a farm is present and real. Some young animals don't survive. The more resilient do. This is ecology, not cruelty. Permaculture teaches us that death is transformation: it feeds the soil, which feeds new life. There is no life without it.

We don't castrate or neuter our animals. We believe unnecessary physical modification interferes with an animal's right to live its full biological life — mating, pregnancy, birth, parenting.

With that comes responsibility. We manage reproduction thoughtfully through herd management rather than sterilisation, keeping parents on the farm and rehoming most offspring at the end of the season. Visitors may witness animals mating — this is natural behaviour, and we don't hide it.

Welcoming new life in spring is easy. Letting go in fall is harder. But learning to release is part of the practice.

We don't eat our animals, and we don't breed for meat. But we don't control where rehomed animals go — and we don't judge. Some find new farms. Some become food. Life feeds life; that's true in nature, and it's true here.

We don't see eating meat as wrong. We see it as something that deserves mindfulness, gratitude, and restraint.

Most of our animals roam freely. They're let out each morning and return to the barn each evening on their own — because they want to, not because they're forced. In summer, mammals spend days in outdoor enclosures. In winter, they roam more freely, and those who prefer to stay inside are welcome to.

Our rabbits are the exception: they live in long outdoor coops in summer where they can graze freely, and move into smaller insulated spaces in winter for warmth and safety.