The pastures of the Gsies valley that surround the Lonza Hof farm are lush and green to begin with. But to make sure that the ground can regenerate and the chickens never lack for a pristine place to run, the Kargruber family has introduced the mobile chicken coop. Every 10 to 14 days, farmer Klaus Kargruber brings the tractor and tows the mobile chicken coop from one lush pasture to the next in a matter of minutes.

“This goodness, the always-fresh pastures where the chickens can peck and scratch to their hearts’ content, all that can be tasted in the free-range eggs bearing the South Tyrolean seal of quality”, says Klaus Kargruber with conviction: “They are bright yellow and creamy.”

The people at the Lonza Hof farm affectionately refer to their chickens as “our ladies”. “Working with them is fun, and I’m happy that it gives me the chance to continue running our little farm”, says Klaus Kargruber. He takes care of supplying the chickens with genetically unmodified grit and fresh water whereas Steffi Kargruber is in charge of collecting the eggs. The next generation, the four children living on the farm, are already helping her out with that.

Short transport routes are paramount at the Lonza Hof farm, both in terms of feeding the chickens and getting them from A to B. They are bought nearby to make sure that they are never under too much stress. That also keeps the carbon footprint small.

By the way, just like the “ladies” at the Lonza Hof farm are regaled with a fresh pasture over and over again, egg buyers can also look forward to a surprise: The Kargruber family likes to hide little positive messages or recipes in their egg boxes.