Walks in the Oberland reveal the trend: It’s no longer just on pastures or on farms that cackling suddenly occurs. The typical noise can also be heard from gardens in residential areas and sometimes even from balconies. More and more people are fulfilling a dream and keeping chickens not as farm animals but as pets with added value. “By a vice,” the chickens offered are regularly picked up at the Iffeldorfer Landmarkt, says Markus Bocksberger. When he bought his own six hens there about a year ago, the seller gave him one reason: Corona. “People were looking for new hobbies to do at home.”
For Bocksberger, however, the chickens also have a practical use. Since he’s been keeping them, the cakes for his Café Extra in Penzberg have been baked from his own eggs. One of his hens lays between four and six pieces a week. Depending on the breed, the yields are sometimes dark brown, sometimes light brown, sometimes colored. “We have six different breeds,” says Bocksberger. Including a Druffler cap with its “Punkerschopf” on the head. However, keeping chickens is not really lucrative. “It’s only from a certain number of chickens,” says the café operator and second mayor of Penzberg (PM). At that time, “sometimes loosely 1000 euros” were spent on stables, enclosures and wire. You shouldn’t underestimate the cost of organic feed for your hens either. That would be difficult to extrapolate, but “it would definitely be cheaper if we bought the eggs in the supermarket”.
Although the animals have plenty of space to run about in their large enclosure, they too had to stay in the stall during the last outbreak of bird flu. That was “very annoying and not so fun for the chickens either”. Every three months he also has to “pack up his feathered protégés and drive them to the vet” – the obligatory vaccination is then due. In addition to diseases, other animals pose the greatest threat to chickens. In order to keep rats and mice away, you have to be careful not to leave the feed lying around on the ground. However, his hens would certainly be able to defend themselves against such small intruders. “They don’t understand it as a joke,” Bocksberger is certain. In addition, the enclosure is so burglar-proof that there have not been any “fox deaths” so far. “This is Fort Knox,” he jokes.
The names of his hens range from Poulet to Kana. All six mean the same thing, namely “chicken” – but in different languages. He prefers to just watch Poulet and her cackling colleagues, says Bocksberger. “You squat down and come down.” That is extremely relaxing, says the local politician. “They are just beautiful to look at.” Nevertheless, he does not wish for any offspring – unlike Rafaela Elmer.
Almost exactly a year ago, the then ten-year-old Ickingerin longed for some feathered friends. Without further ado, she made sure that her family got together with the neighbors and marched independently to the town hall to apply for chickens to be kept on the compensation area of the common settlement – with success. The three families at Hinteren Moos are now the proud owners of ten hens. “Everything is shared,” says Karen Wolfermann-Hartl about caring for the animals and the financial outlay. Among others, her family has also joined Rafaela’s project. Everyone lends a hand here.
Just like Markus Bocksberger, the Ickinger family association deliberately decided against keeping a rooster. You never know exactly how loud they can get, explains Wolfermann-Hartl. “We didn’t want to upset anyone.” Despite being the same sex, the flock of chickens is quite diverse: Rafaela Eimer lists two Sussex, three Rhodeland, one Marans and one Vorwerk. The Araucana is exciting. The trusting breed from South America doesn’t have a tail, but instead has protruding feathers on its cheeks. She also lays green eggs.
Only recently there were three new chickens in the Ickinger settlement, “because unfortunately two Sussex and one Italian were taken by the hawk last year,” says Eimer. But maybe it was the Mader once, says Karen Wolfermann-Hartl. In order to protect the children’s darlings from further attacks, the stable has been improved.
Although the laid eggs are divided among all keepers and then eaten, slaughtering the chickens is out of the question. After all, the children assigned each hen its own name. Slaughtering Daphne, Chantal, Lotte or Uschi, “that would be a drama,” says Wolfermann-Hartl. Because of the children, the families would also have looked around for chickens that were less nervous and more robust. For this reason, the Druffler hood was not an option. Rafaela recommends the Sussex chickens instead. The Rhodelanders also did very well. “They can also be picked up by the children,” says Wolfermann-Hartl.
She can understand the trend towards chickens as pets. “It’s definitely also the idea of being self-sufficient to a certain extent – even if it’s just the eggs.” In her and Rafaela’s opinion, however, the affection that the animals give back clearly outweighs it. The children also learned a lot from the chickens about dealing with animals and about responsibility. They have become so fond of their feathered friends that they wish they had offspring. However, raising chicks would be complicated in many respects, which is why Rafaela and the other children of the settlement will probably have to be patient. “Maybe someday,” Karen Wolferman-Hartl gives hope.
Friendly neighbors
For Hermann Fagner, having chickens has long been part of everyday life. “We used to have a farm, and of course we also had chickens there,” says Geltinger. So it’s been almost 60 years since he started breeding the animals as a hobby. Today, five to six different breeds reproduce under his care – including the Sebright, one of the smallest chicken species in the world.
He keeps about a dozen animals at the house, another one in a paddock next door. “These are chickens and roosters,” emphasizes Fagner. The residents have not yet complained about the crowing of the roosters. Most of them are tenants with him and therefore have to sign the rental agreement that he has pointed out their noisy neighbors in plumage. In addition, they would always get some of the laid eggs as a gift. In addition to chicken-friendly neighbors, according to Geltinger, keeping chickens privately also requires a garden of at least 50 or 60 square meters and a barn. “You shouldn’t keep chickens alone, but always in a group of at least three.” This is of course also possible without a rooster.
For years now, according to Fagner, more and more people have been keeping chickens in villages, but also in city gardens. “If the space is there, it’s not a problem,” he says. For this reason, he often gives his rearing to private individuals. If you ask Hermann Fagner how labour-intensive chicken breeding is, he just laughs and says: “Not at all!” It is “the simplest thing in the world”. Provide fresh water and food every day – that’s about it. However, Fagner is critical of the purchase of chickens as an occupation for children. “Chickens don’t necessarily make good pets, maybe to look at, but not to cuddle and hold.” The animals don’t take that very well. Many are tame and even eat out of your hand, but Fagner would “rarely” pick them up.
The best thing about his chickens is the joy of the eggs. They are extremely tasty. “The difference between eating an egg from a free-ranging hen and a caged animal is like day and night!”
Hans Fichtner, chairman of the Bad Tölz Animal Welfare Association, also emphasizes: “Chickens need exercise!” The animals would have to be able to scratch, build their little hollows and take sand baths against parasites. In addition, there is not only a vaccination but also a reporting obligation for the feathered animals. According to Fichtner, private individuals should definitely ensure that hens and roosters are kept in a species-appropriate manner and that they follow the guidelines of the veterinary office conscientiously – then nothing stands in the way of the Easter eggs they produce themselves.