Goats as Reliable Guardians—The Mobile Chicken Coop Fits Perfectly into Steinmühle’s Food Concept

The billy goat is actually supposed to keep birds of prey at bay, but he also maintains a healthy skepticism toward people. Near the Steinmühle boathouse, he and his mate guard Gisela Brusius’s mobile chicken coop. The Steinmühle receives about 240 eggs per week from her mobile chicken coop, which are used in the kitchen for breakfast, cakes, or casseroles. These products fit perfectly into the school and boarding school’s food supply plan.

The relationship between the Steinmühle and Gisela Brusius goes back a long way. Her farm is located in Cappel, about 200 meters away as the crow flies, and the farmer has a long-standing friendship with boarding school partner Johanna Buurman-Rogalla. This has led to a mutually supportive relationship—or, to put it in modern terms: a win-win situation. The Steinmühle riding stable has leased pasture land from Gisela Brusius. Most recently, the Steinmühle was able to purchase land from Gisela Brusius on which the new sports hall will be built. In return, she was assured of a regular customer for her eggs. The farm’s previous flock of 60 classic brown laying hens moved off the property; with the expansion of the flock, they gained 140 new “colleagues”—and the owner found some relief: “Compared to the current mobile chicken coop, keeping the hens on the farm was very labor-intensive.”

This new farming method marked yet another step forward. The “Hühnermobil” is a modern, fully mobile free-range housing system designed for species-appropriate and environmentally friendly chicken farming. “This fits perfectly into our concept,” says Steinmühle’s head chef, Sebastian Riehl. Steinmühle places great importance on using products in its kitchen that fit the “regional—organic—fair trade” criteria. In each individual case, the team determines which criterion should reasonably be given priority.

With this in mind, Steinmühle Boarding School, which operates the kitchen, partnered with the organic bakery Siebenkorn in 2020. At the same time, a new regional produce vendor was brought on board as a partner. The beverage selection includes Fairtrade coffee. The bistro offers organic lemonade.