Motte Hühnerhof has been sitting on a 400 square metre plot in Ottensen since April 1986, when a group of local residents rented a vacant lot and built a chicken house out of timber and clay with a living roof. The neighbourhood liked it so much they fought off a development threat in the 1990s to keep it. It’s been there ever since, entirely volunteer-run, entirely donation-funded, and entirely unbothered by what a urban chicken farm is supposed to look like.
The setup is exactly what it sounds like. A small fenced enclosure with a handful of chickens doing what chickens do, next to beehives, an insect hotel, a compost area, and an urban garden. The chickens get fed surplus fruit and vegetables rescued from Ottensen’s organic supermarkets. The bees produce honey sold alongside the eggs. No ticket booth, no café, no gift shop. Just a self-service egg vending machine and a donation box.
Kids can feed the chickens fruit and vegetables, watch them up close, and in the right season see chicks being hatched. A local primary school takes class 1 there every year for their “Vom Ei zum Huhn” unit, which says something about how genuinely educational it is versus how educational things claim to be.
The Practical Bit
Public visiting hours are Saturdays 11:00-13:00 only. That’s two hours a week. The egg vending machine runs when eggs are available, and eggs go fast — €4 for 4. They’re brown, white, green, and blue depending on the breed, and usually still warm. Honey is also available when there’s stock. Bring cash.
The site is surrounded by street art and Ottensen generally has good coffee nearby, so it works well as part of a longer Saturday morning rather than a standalone destination. It’s a small space and there’s no cafe or seating on site, so bring snacks if the kids need something.
The farm welcomes visits from kitas and school classes by arrangement outside of regular Saturday hours — contact via email at [email protected].
