From chicken to egg
In mid-October, we visited the Oberfeld educational farm in Darmstadt with a group of 16 kids from the Arche. More precisely: The proud poultry there. And there was a lot to discover from chicken to egg!
Right at the beginning, we ventured into a free-range enclosure with 220 chickens and five impressive roosters. The classic dual-purpose chickens, which are usually white or brown, have the friendly name “Coffee and Cream”. Despite the friendly name, some children found it a little too adventurous surrounded by so much wild flapping, so they watched the colorful goings-on from a safe distance behind the fence. However, most of the kids first threw themselves into feeding them: After learning what chickens eat, everyone was allowed to take grains and put them on their shoes – the bravest ones even fed from their hands.
After clarifying some basic questions (Do chickens have teeth? Why do chickens actually lay eggs? Why aren’t chickens pregnant?)
Another highlight followed: collecting eggs directly from the hatchery.
We got eight eggs warm from laying! Super exciting to actually pull an egg out from under a chicken.
Before preparing a delicious scrambled egg, a short stopover at the Orpington chickens: a beautifully patterned breed that is rather robust and calm. Their paradisiacal life under a walnut tree is an opportunity for the kids to get up close and personal: Because chickens love walnuts and as soon as we cracked open the fallen treats, the Orpingtons came running. There were also two trusting sheep, who picked up walnuts and pats.
But now it’s time to make the scrambled eggs! We learn a lot more during the process: for example, how to crack eggs, what the components of the egg are called (funny that “yolk” means “daughter” in Swedish, isn’t it?), how long a hen incubates before a chick can develop from an egg … and that you can never make scrambled eggs in the egg by shaking them vigorously. The inside of the egg is so ingeniously designed that the egg white perfectly protects the yolk.
One by one, everyone gets to crack their own collected egg, we all stir together, add salt and then into the pan with olive oil. Here, too, every child lends a hand. In the end, the scrambled eggs smell amazing! And the simple snack with a piece of spelt baguette tastes incomparable.
No one has ever eaten such fresh scrambled eggs before!
