Happy chickens and electricity at the same time
Have I seen the happiest chickens in Styria? Perhaps. But they certainly exceeded my expectations.
Review April 2023: We visit Sandra and Stefan Maier in Hart bei Graz. They are planning a 1.5 ha PV system on their 4 ha meadow.
The plant is to ...
✅ not just electricity for 1000 households 🏡,
✅ but also happy chickens 🐓,
✅ Happy sheep 🐑
✅ and create more biodiversity.
Can all this work? Isn't that a bit much to ask?
April 2024, one year later, I visit the plant again together with Thomas Loibnegger from the Styrian Chamber of Agriculture - and we are both left with our mouths agape :
✔️ The 1100 laying hens venture to the end of the meadow for the first time. The elevated PV panels protect them from birds of prey. "They've never been out here before!" Stefan emphasizes. The chickens peck, scratch, take sand baths and seem happy all round.
✔️ The camera sheep also graze happily. The animals took to the enclosure from the very first moment. They enjoy the protection from wind and weather. "Even a sheep 🐑 doesn't want to stand in the rain or in the blazing sun".
✔️ One third of the meadow is there for biodiversity, honey harvest and small wild animals. The fence only starts at a height of 25 centimetres so that hares and others can easily slip through. "We want to give something back to nature," says Sandra.
✔️ And the 1MW plant also produces electricity for 1000 households in the region.
You couldn't wish for more.
