The Husbandry
The health and well-being of the cattle has the highest priority at Sönneböe. The animals may not be stabled during the winter due to their horns and nature. The herds are moving around on large areas year-round with access to old forest consisting of mainly oak, beech and hazel. No medicine is given to the animals. The cattle eats only grass and leaf and are only given minerals and salt, no grains or any other supplementary forage.
The animals are given winter forage from natural meadows along the Helge Å that are not fertilised. The calves suckles their mothers up to ten months of age when they are naturally driven off by the cow. All calves gets at least two grazing seasons before they are sold as breeding animals or are slaughtered. New animals are not introduced on the farm to minimize the risk for contagion with disease. An exception is the bull, which is replaced about every eight years. The husbandry at Sönneböe has the highest health status with the Paratuberkulos programme (gardochdjurhalsan.se). All the animals on the farm are pedigreed. No chemicals or fertilizers are used on the farm
