Earlier this month, the Kenyon Farm added 300 laying hens and a brand-new mobile chicken coop for egg production, a new enterprise that will give Kenyon students a production-focused experiential learning opportunity. Kenyon Farm student employees and volunteers spent time this fall preparing for the arrival of the hens; they constructed a concrete pad, installed a 2.5 ton feed bin and auger, built a fence, and learned about the coop and its automation systems. Students will provide daily care to the chickens including feeding, watering, and gathering and washing eggs.
Besides being a great hands-on learning experience for students, the Farm’s egg production will support the local food system at Kenyon, as the farm partners with AVI to provide about half of the eggs served in Peirce Hall.
The laying hens live in a high-tech mobile chicken coop. The coop has automatic doors that let the chickens out to pasture during the day and keep them safe from predators at night, nest boxes that open and close to keep the eggs cleaner and prevent the hens from becoming broody, automatic lights that provide supplemental lighting during the winter months to encourage egg production, and a large feed bin and water tank that keep the hens fed for several days. The automated systems are all powered by a solar panel located on the roof.
The Kenyon Farm chose to go with a mobile chicken coop so that the laying hens could be raised on pasture. Pasture-raised laying hens are healthier and happier because they have access to the outdoors with a larger area to roam, more sunshine, and the ability to eat bugs and grass.
Happy chickens also produce healthy eggs! According to a 2003 study from Pennsylvania State University, eggs from pasture-raised hens contain twice as much omega-3 fat, three times more vitamin D, four times more vitamin E, and seven times more beta-carotene than eggs from conventionally-raised laying hens. Raising laying hens on pasture is also a regenerative farming approach. When the hens graze on pasture, they distribute manure that adds nutrients to the soil. Currently, the hens are grazing on a garden plot at the farm that is growing a cover crop for the winter. In the spring, this garden will be planted with vegetables for summer harvest.
“One thing I really like about the chicken coup is that it achieves some of our long term goals for the farm,” said Ethan McCullough ’24, a student worker at the farm. “We’ve always wanted to provide AVI with significant amounts of food for students. This is a big step in the right direction.”
The Kenyon Farm is very egg-cited about our new venture. We hope you’ll stop by the farm to see our new pasture-raised laying hens!