The Farm Animals

Milk production at Bygdø Kongsgård has been run organically since 2011. The barn has room for 60 dairy cows and 85 calves and young animals. A milking robot has been installed in the barn so that the cows are milked three times a day. Each cow produces an average of 8,800 litres of milk a year and Bygdø Kongsgård has a milk quota of 350,000 litres per year. The majority of the milk is delivered to TINE and some is used as raw material in our own cheese factory.

The barn at Bygdø Kongsgård was built in 1977 as one of the country's first free-range barns. Adjacent to the barn is the feed warehouse where we store the winter feed for the cows in four tower silos.

The animals graze during the summer months from May to the end of September. All the cows are of the Norwegian Red Cattle (NRF) breed, which is characterized by the fact that it milks well and produces a lot of meat and has good fertility.

We have 25 winter-fed ewes and a ram. Lambing starts in the first week of April. The Old Norse ewes often have horns. They are good mothers and efficient landscapers. 

For large parts of spring, summer and autumn, the sheep go out to pasture. We fence off different areas on Bygdøy so that the sheep can freely walk around and clear scrub and undergrowth.

We have 16 ponies of different sizes at Bygdø Kongsgård. From the maximum category 1 pony to the very smallest category 4. Our ponies are out grazing here at Bygdø Kongsgård for much of the summer. The rest of the year they are used in the riding school.

On the farm we have a small flock of chickens to teach about the hen as a domestic animal and what products we get from it. They have a fenced area so we know where we have them, also to protect them from foxes and hawks and other animals that may be a threat. 

The hens start laying eggs when they are about 20 weeks old. A good hen can lay up to 300 eggs a year

We keep some slaughter pigs on the farm to teach about the pig as a livestock. These are crosses of original pig breeds that, among other things, have fewer offspring in the litter and are in good health.

In addition, we have a sow of the breed Canadian mini pig. Nella was born on 20.05.13 and came to us from Rakkestad. This is a type of pig that is not kept for meat production, but more as a companion animal. Nella is a real cuddly pig.

Here at Bygdø Kongsgård we have Trønder rabbits. It is the only all-Norwegian rabbit breed. It is a large rabbit with an ideal weight of around 4 kg. The coat is dense, shiny and soft. 

It is traditionally a good meat producer, but also a real cuddly rabbit. Trønder rabbits usually tend to be black with white hairs.