To benefit all

The „Hühnermobil”, a fully mobile chicken coop, provides new ideas for the future of agriculture

Free range chicken clucking happily on next door’s meadow – a sight and sound many of us haven’t seen and heard in years. But this could change now. With agriculture coming more and more often under criticism, consumers start looking increasingly for fairly produced fresh regional products. These customer requests demand innovative solutions, and Stallbau Weiland supplies one of them: fully mobile hen houses for fully mobile free-range chicken husbandry, taking care of the welfare of animals, humans and environment at the same time. Almost 20 years’ of farming experience with about 400.000 hen spaces throughout Germany as well as abroad clearly show that fully mobile free-range poultry husbandry benefits all.

Beneficial for animals – species-appropiate chicken husbandry
Stallbau Weiland manufactures fully mobile chicken coops for 225 up to 1.400 chickens. Pens are available for egg laying hens and broilers, and are placed on a fresh, green meadow. Here, the animals can feed to their heart’s content on fresh grass, clover and other delicious herbs without having to forego the comforts of a modern chicken coop. All “Hühnermobiles” come equipped with perches, feeding troughs, water supply, an enclosed scratching area and animal friendly group laying nests filled with spelt. All year round access to fresh green outdoor runs, opportunities for extensive sun and dust baths and a stimulating environment keep the chickens healthy and vital without medical treatment and make beak cutting unnecessary. A dung conveyor facilitates weekly manure removal and keeps the air fresh.

After a week, the mobile hen house is simply moved to another grazing area. The closed bottom panel of Stallbau Weiland’s system enables easy and stress free relocation of the entire coop, complete with dry litter and “inhabitants”.

Beneficial for consumers – responsible production of tasty, high quality food
The hens‘ mobile living conditions are reflected in their eggs, too – they literally carry the sunshine in their yolks! The deep yellow, nearly orange colour of the yolks is a direct result of the healthy foraging conditions egg-laying hens enjoy in our fully mobile free-range chicken husbandry system. Permanent access to green outdoor runs allow egg laying hens and broilers alike to run around, scratch, peck and forage to their hearts` content. A varied and healthy diet with lots of roughage, lots of opportunity to “stretch their legs” (and wings!!) make for healthy growth and result in a new quality of eggs and meat.

Regional, high quality food production based on animal welfare, transparent and honest, corresponds with today’s consumer demands – good conscience inclusive. Observing chicken in the meadow, in their natural environment, and the transparency of chicken husbandry in the “Hühnermobil” will allow a new trust to grow between farmers and consumers.

Beneficial for nature – strengthens and maintains soil health and natural cycles
Soil resources are precious and, unfortunately, limited. Moving from agricultural monocultures towards a sustainable and versatile use of the soil requires new concepts. Open air grazing areas around conventional chicken sheds suffer rather sooner than later from the enthusiastic scratching and pecking of the hens and turn into muddy, over-fertilized and parasite infested outdoor runs. These problems can be left behind, literally, if the chicken coops are moved regularly on a weekly or, at least during the vegetation period, bi-weekly basis.

But it’s not only the fully mobile husbandry system which contributes towards soil health and maintenance of natural cycles – the hens play their part, too: Their droppings gently fertilize the soil in the outdoor run for a short period of time, the greens they love to feed on provide a habitat for butterflies and insects, and finally, the humus layer created by their forage plants forms the basis of a living, fertile soil. Even fruit plantations profit from the chickens’ “maintenance work” and yield better crops. Last but not least, short transport routes within the agricultural production process have a positive impact on the climate footprint.

 

Beneficial for farmers – fully mobile for highest efficiency
Different mobility systems are currently on the market. Stallbau Weiland’s fully mobile chicken husbandry concept is based on easy movability of the hen house including its passengers plus litter, and this on a weekly basis. No time consuming preparations are necessary to move the hen house, it comes equipped with wheels and a closed bottom panel. All Weiland systems are fully mobile and fully self-sufficient, they need neither water nor power connections, no additional silos or concrete foundations whatsoever or wheresoever.

With such a highly transparent husbandry system, the efforts of the farmer and his care for the animals become clearly visible to the customer and are honoured by his willingness to pay fair prices for these agricultural products. Fair prices, in turn, are a necessity if the independence and very existence of smallholder farms is to be secured. The direct contact and feedback between consumer and producer will influence their relationship in a positive way. Chicken husbandry with the “Hühnermobil” is a profitable and presentable form of agriculture to take pride in, to give joy and job satisfaction!

 

Beneficial for agriculture and society – a sustainable future for the farmer next door
The farm “next door” is the symbol of a lively rural area and an agricultural production close to consumers and in harmony with nature. Visible production of high quality foodstuffs creates proximity to the animals and plants and people in the production process. Stallbau Weiland’s concept of a fully mobile husbandry system provides smallholder farms with the economic basis to become profitable again, and stimulates a sustainable and future-oriented form of agriculture. A fully mobile chicken husbandry system leads to a higher appreciation of regionally produced eggs and meat. And demonstrates, at the same time, in a very practical way that nature conservation, animal welfare  and economic attractive production processes can co-exist successfully.The fully mobile chicken husbandry system is a reply to the question of what the future of agriculture could look like. A future, in which local farming structures are strengthened and trends are fostered which lead to an economic revitalization of rural communities. This would ultimately benefit all: farmers, animals, consumers, region, society and environment.

 

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