Have you ever experienced around 60 cows all running, dancing, and jumping out of the barn after 6 months indoors over the winter?? It is an amazing spectacle to watch. We went along on Easter Day to Kosläpp 2017 at Björketorps Gård for our first experience of this phenomenon. The happy Swedish cows did not disappoint either. We were stood around the perimeter of a field with many hundreds of other people, awaiting what is a traditional marker for the end of winter, and the start of spring, with the release of the happy Swedish cows from their barn after being indoors for the harsh 6 months of winter. However, yesterday the temperatures dropped here, and we had snow. There was still a smattering on the ground, and we did wonder if the cows would turn around and go straight back indoors!!
The calm before the storm….ready, steady……..
I have never seen a herd of female cows so active and lively!! They were indeed very happy Swedish cows. With the barn doors opening they raced down the length of the field running, jumping, and dancing around…they have had all winter to practise their routines after all 😉 I have never seen a cow jump, and it is a little amusing. Not only were they jumping, but they were so feisty there was quite a lot of fight action going on too. They would stare each other out and lock heads, and push to and fro. Then there were other cows pawing the ground with their hooves, digging, as well as cows rubbing their noses along the ground (not unlike dogs when they find a smell they like), and one even rolling around the ground on its back (again not unlike a dog!). Watching all these guys racing towards you (even with a small wire fence between you and them) is a little unsettling!
After a lot of excitement and mooing, we headed off to explore the rest of the working farm, which was opened up for us to mooch around. It was so lovely, and a very open look into the workings, life, and smells of a dairy farm here in Sweden. First of all we headed into the cows’ barn, to see their home over the winter. The cows were free to wander in and out after their release into the field, so we saw some come into their private stable area for some food, others were being milked, and we got to see and smell life in the barn. After that we headed over to see a 2 day old calf with his mummy, and then some older calves as well. There were also pony rides to experience, tractor rides in a hay cart, food, ice creams (made with their own milk), and tractors to clamber all over.
We had a lovely day watching the happy Swedish cows see grass again after the winter, and will definitely be making this an annual tradition 🙂
Comments 20
We love taking our son to local farms . I bet the kids loved the pony and tractor rides and ice cream is essential when going to places like this.
Author
They did and it was! Even better it was the farms own milk used for the ice cream 🙂
aw what a fantastic thing to witness. I know the feeling of being cooped up and then being able to enjoy being outside!
Author
It was so funny to watch them too!
This would be such a fun tradition! We love going to the farm in spring 🙂
Author
It was so funny to watch!
Oh wow! What a great thing to see….The cows look and sound very happy to be back outside….What a fun day out. #CountryKids
What a fab activity to go and watch, I’ve heard of this before but I’ve never seen such a large amount of cows released at once. I bet the kids loved watching the cows bound around the fields in pure happiness. It’s great that you got to explore the rest of the farm as well, working farms are always a great experience and each one’s different.
Thanks for sharing with me on #CountryKids.
Author
It was so funny, and to see such a huge amount of cows doing it made a real impact!
We were at a farm today and watched a couple of hundred cows come in for milking and we all loved that, let alone being able to see them jump for joy as they have been let out. What a special sight it must have been. Mich x #Countrykids
Author
How lovely, that would have been nice to see too. Yes, it was very funny watching jumping cows!
Lovely post. I lived for a while on a farm in mid wales and I loved watching the cows bouncing around like lambs when they were let out on to grass in the Spring after a long Winter snuggled up in the barns 🙂
That must have been a very different sight and not something we’d see or think about here really #CountryKids
What a brilliant day! It must have been wonderful to see the cows enjoying their freedom after a long winter 🙂 #countrykids
This must have been a lovely sight to see them leaping around, I can’t imagine cows jumping for joy!
What an amazing sight it must have been to see all the happy cows leaping about. I can imagine it must have been a wonderful feeling for them to be out in the fresh air again. How lovely to see a 2-day old calf too 🙂 #countrykids
This sounds like fun!! It’s great for the kids to be able to see the mechanics of a working farm too. #CountryKids
Cows have feelings too but I guess they show it in a more subtle way. For instant, they are licking you in response to scratching their itchy neck, belly, and udder 🙂 It is also great fun to put a halter on a week-old calf and teach it walking along like a dog.
Farm holidays are widespread in Germany and there are many farms where you can even help with milking.
Author
That sounds a great type of holiday
This is really a great article and a great read for me. It’s my first visit to your blog and I have found it so useful and informative. Thank you