The Vryburgers started to consider manual labour beneath them, leading to the widespread use of slave labour for both skilled and unskilled tasks. This reliance on slaves stunted the development of the Vryburgers.[40] Because of the high fertility of the Vryburgers, each generation more than replacing themselves, many as soon as they became adults had to get their own farms and raise cattle to sustain themselves. Many turned to subsistence cattle farming.[41]
