A herd of 11 cows will arrive in the western enclosure this spring. They will stay with us until the fall when the grass has stopped growing. The cows come from Emma and Claes-Erik at Naturgården (KRAV farm) and are a mix of the Simmental/Hereford breeds. The breed is very calm and nice and is used to moving in areas where people walk. Why graze? In short, it can be said that it benefits biodiversity. To create herbaceous meadows and pastures, the grass needs to be grazed. This gives slower-growing plants the opportunity to bloom, which in turn benefits pollinating insects (butterflies, bumblebees, wild bees, etc.). Several red-listed species, such as rosette-leaf plants, are completely dependent on the fast-growing grass being grazed down. The cows’ hooves also create new places for seeds to establish and spread. There is also cow dung, which many insects and fungi benefit from. The greater the biodiversity, the more robust the ecosystem that is able to recover if there are sudden changes in the climate. This is consistent with several of Sweden’s environmental goals. At Gunnebo there are forests and pastures, hay meadows, old arable land and coastal meadows that will be managed with grazing and scythe mowing.

The Hedemora hen or Gallus gallus domesticus, as it is called in Latin, is a Swedish farm chicken from Dalarna. It is characterized by its dense plumage that makes it withstand the cold well. They are sometimes also called ”trouser chickens”. This is because the roosters, especially, have such dense plumage around their legs that they resemble a pair of short, downy pants.

At Gunnebo we have made new friends in the form of blue ducks that live at the farm pond. The Swedish blue duck is a country breed. If you are a country breed duck, it means that you have lived in Sweden for a very long time. The blue duck has also thrived best on the west coast of Sweden. In the late 1960s, there were not many blue ducks in Sweden. Fortunately, they decided to help them and today there are many more ducks again! Despite the name, the duck is not always blue. It can also be white, pearl gray, blue and black.

Our rabbits are named Sigrid, Svea, Lilly and Svala. They are also called Gotland rabbits. The Gotland rabbit is a close relative of the landrace rabbit that existed in Sweden a long time ago. Sigrid, Svea, Lilly and Svala are, like all Gotland rabbits, happy and curious. They like to go exploring in their little rabbit house. In the past, the rabbits were called “cow hares”. This was done because the rabbits and the cows lived together. The rabbits were then allowed to eat the food that the cows dropped on the ground.