Dual-purpose chicken: the hidden champions

What exactly does dual-purpose chicken mean?

Dual-purpose in the context of chicken = egg and meat in a harmonic balance originating from one animal  

Dual-purpose chicken offer a real alternative to avoid the culling of male chicks. 

Das gelbe vom Ei

With eggs and meat from our chickens you always have...

Rural agriculture

Species-appropriate husbandry 

Robust and 

flexible animals

Fresh eggs and high-quality meat 

As delicious as in the past* 

  • Rural agriculture
  • Species-appropriate husbandry
  • Robuste und angepasste Tiere
  • Frische Eier und hochwertiges Fleisch
  • Einfach besser im Geschmack* 
Organic breeding

Organic right from the start

What does organic
ÖkolOgische Züchtung ?

On our way towards "Organic right from the start" we rethought chickens. 

Als geschätzte Lebewesen halten wir unsere Hühner von Anfang an, wie sie auch bei den Bauern auf den Höfen leben (das ist in der Zucht sonst nicht üblich!*). 

Our aim is to breed chicken, which are

  • robust and can deal with climate change in an appropriate way
  • diverse, just like you and me
  • free for everybody, without any patents
  • on an equal footing, hen and cock are of the same importance 
  • fun for the farmers
  • tasty, with regard to eggs and meat 
 

We breed chickens for a cycle-oriented, farm-based agriculture in which the chickens are allowed to scratch, peck, flutter and simply be chickens. 

P.S. Yes, there are also challenges. As our chickens have the right "work-life balance", they don't lay an egg every day - but we are ultimately more concerned with the big picture. 

Usually breeding stock is kept in single cages.

Dual-purpose chicken: the hidden champions

What exactly does dual-purpose chicken mean?

Dual-purpose in the context of chicken = egg and meat in a harmonic balance originating from one animal  

 

Dual-purpose chicken offer a real alternative to avoid the culling of male chicks. 

Das gelbe vom Ei

With eggs and meat from our chickens you always have...

  • Rural agriculture
  • Species-appropriate husbandry
  • Robuste und angepasste Tiere
  • Frische Eier und hochwertiges Fleisch
  • As delicious as in the past* 
Organic breeding

Organic right from the start

What does organic
breeding even mean?

On our way towards "Organic right from the start" we rethought chickens. 

 

From the very beginning, we keep our chickens as valued living creatures, just as they live on the farms of the farmers (this is not usual in breeding!*). 

 

Our aim is to breed chicken, which are

  • robust and can deal with climate change in an appropriate way
  • diverse, just like you and me
  • free for everybody, without any patents
  • on an equal footing, hen and cock are of the same importance 
  • fun for the farmers
  • tasty, with regard to eggs and meat 
 

We breed chickens for a cycle-oriented, farm-based agriculture in which the chickens are allowed to scratch, peck, flutter and simply be chickens. 

 

P.S. Yes, there are also challenges. As our chickens have the right "work-life balance", they don't lay an egg every day - but we are ultimately more concerned with the big picture. 

*Normalerweise werden Zuchttiere in Einzeltierkäfigen gehalten.

Celebrities in the hen house

Dual-purpose chicken
The Short-Story

With animal welfare

Our Dual-purpose chicken are really multi-talented! They love species-appropriate husbandry in the same way you prefer sustainable decisions.

With flavor

Eggs and meat - as delicious as it used to be! Can't remember it anymore? Try the products and you'll know what we're raving about.

With added value

Think regional, act sustainable. Farmers keeping Dual-purpose chicken know exactly what really good food is all about and harmonize animal, environment and indulgence.

With diversity

GMO-free? What else?
Our ÖTZ dual-purpose chickens stand for more biodiversity, animal welfare and rural agriculture.

The long story

The golden mean

Did you know....

that humans celebrate chickens as multi-talented and recyclers of farm residues? First since 1950 High performance breeding und hat alles auf den Kopf gestellt: Hennen legen seitdem Eier wie Weltmeisterinnen – über 330 pro Jahr – aber ihr Fleisch findet kaum Verwendung als Lebensmittel. Und ihre Bruderhähne? Der größte Teil wird noch vor dem Schlupf im Ei aussortiert und zu Tierfutter verarbeitet. 

So where does the poultry meat come from?

Just like the egg-laying world champions, there are also chickens that have been bred to grow particularly quickly. They don't lay eggs, don't flutter or fly as well and in most cases can be bought after four to six weeks in the form of chicken nuggets or other poultry meat products.

Does that work? Yep. Do we think that's good? Nope!

One-sided breeding for eggs or meat is good for the wallet. But the real price? Presumably the animals, the farmers - and ultimately nature - pay it. We thought to ourselves: there must be a better way...

Dual-purpose! Here comes the golden mean!

Our ÖTZ dual-purpose chickens can do both: delicious eggs and tasty meat. Just like in the old days! And the roosters? Yes of course it would be nice if we didn't have to tell you that they are also slaughtered and processed into products in the end, ... But for us, they are not just a by-product or waste product. We value them just as much as the hens. For us, that makes a difference. Dual-purpose is a perfect fit for farms that are serious about ecological circular economy, Among other things, this means that these farms only keep as many animals as their fields and meadows can feed and the manure from the animals keeps the soil fertile. Species-appropriate and with access to fresh air - sounds like a win-win-win situation, doesn't it?

it even tastes better!

Watch out: Eggs and meat from dual-purpose chickens really do taste better - as scientists from the University of Hohenheim have proven*.

* Sensory evaluation of dual-purpose chickens Universität Hohenheim | 2023

Unsere Zubereitungsempfehlungen

ÖTZ-Rezepte

Rezepte Klare Hühnerbrühe

Rezeptklassiker: Klare Hühnerbrühe

Der Klassiker: Klare Hühnerbrühe vom dual-purpose chicken als Grundlage für andere Gericht oder pur servieren.

Read more:

Roll the movie

Dual-purpose chickens in the spotlight

Sie sehen gerade einen Platzhalterinhalt von YouTube. Um auf den eigentlichen Inhalt zuzugreifen, klicken Sie auf die Schaltfläche unten. Bitte beachten Sie, dass dabei Daten an Drittanbieter weitergegeben werden.

more information

Concept for hen and cock

“Nothing on earth is as powerful as an idea whose time has come” Victor Hugo

Sie sehen gerade einen Platzhalterinhalt von YouTube. Um auf den eigentlichen Inhalt zuzugreifen, klicken Sie auf die Schaltfläche unten. Bitte beachten Sie, dass dabei Daten an Drittanbieter weitergegeben werden.

more information

Dual-purpose chickens without chick culling

The BR reports in a portrait about Dual-purpose chicken Coffee & Cream by ÖTZ 

Sie sehen gerade einen Platzhalterinhalt von YouTube. Um auf den eigentlichen Inhalt zuzugreifen, klicken Sie auf die Schaltfläche unten. Bitte beachten Sie, dass dabei Daten an Drittanbieter weitergegeben werden.

more information

Organic knowledge tidbits

What is a dual-purpose chicken - the Bundesinformationszentrum Landwirtschaft (BZL) explains 

Sie sehen gerade einen Platzhalterinhalt von YouTube. Um auf den eigentlichen Inhalt zuzugreifen, klicken Sie auf die Schaltfläche unten. Bitte beachten Sie, dass dabei Daten an Drittanbieter weitergegeben werden.

more information

Brother cock or dual-purpose chicken - what is the difference? At ökolandbau.de you can find a lot of information about organic farming in everyday life. 

ÖTZ product seal

Everything at a glance

Map of the shopping locations

Here you will find places to buy eggs and meat 

from organically bred chickens.

 You can recognize the unique ÖTZ quality by the seal! 

For those who want to know more

Articles and topics about buying eggs

Podcasts

There are great podcasts on agricultural and environmental topics.

Photo: Jonas Dorn | Dorn & Schmidt GbR

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  • Gilt für alle Brutei-Bestellung der Kreuzungen ÖTZ Coffee, Cream, Chili.
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  • Gilt für alle Brutei-Bestellung der Kreuzungen ÖTZ Coffee, Cream, Chili.
  • Gültig für Lieferadressen innerhalb Deutschlands.
  • Die Auslieferung dieser Bestellungen erfolgt bis spätestens 15. Januar 2026. Spätere Wunschliefertermine sind vom Angebot ausgenommen.