Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Scharrräume
English translation:
scratching area
Added to glossary by
Lori Dendy-Molz
Jan 22, 2007 15:54
17 yrs ago
German term
Germany
Experienced journalist and marketing pro
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, English
Scharrräume
German to English
Science
Livestock / Animal Husbandry
chicken farming
From an article on the KAT product certification label issued to chicken farmers who raise hens the humane way. The story appears in a newsletter for food retailers.
Die Hühner in KAT-Betrieben werden auf begrünten Auslaufflächen gehalten und leben nach einem natürlichen Schlaf-wach-Rhythmus. Ihnen stehen *Scharrräume* und Legenester zur Verfügung.
I grew up surrounded by chicken farms, but I'm afraid I didn't pick up this bit of lingo. This is the place where they scratch up their food, according to my husband. All ideas appreciated.
Die Hühner in KAT-Betrieben werden auf begrünten Auslaufflächen gehalten und leben nach einem natürlichen Schlaf-wach-Rhythmus. Ihnen stehen *Scharrräume* und Legenester zur Verfügung.
I grew up surrounded by chicken farms, but I'm afraid I didn't pick up this bit of lingo. This is the place where they scratch up their food, according to my husband. All ideas appreciated.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +2 | scratching area |
Alison Schwitzgebel
|
| 3 +1 | chicken runs |
Kim Metzger
|
Proposed translations
+2
2 mins
Alison Schwitzgebel
France
France
Native in German
&
English
Works in field
France
Words that work
Native in: English 
, German
Works in: German to English, Germanic(Other) to English, French to English
Related KudoZ points
:
20
Selected
scratching area
Your husband is dead right. It's the area they have to scratch for their food.
"A scratching area is an imperative to allow chickens to exhibit species-typical foraging behavior. Similar to other laboratory animals, the foraging drive is so strong in chickens that they will "work" for food in the presence of freely accessible identical food (Duncan and Hughes, 1972). "
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Note added at 2 hrs (2007-01-22 18:12:13 GMT)
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I keep a handful of chickens myself - the scratching area is not necessarily the run, especially if you raise them using the Balfour method. In the Balfour method you have a chicken house, a scratching area (where you dump all your table waste and compostable materials) where the chickens forage for food, creating great compost, and they get their exercise in the run. I don't think this is described anywhere on the Web, but it is certainly described in detail in John Seymour's great series of books on self sufficiency.
"A scratching area is an imperative to allow chickens to exhibit species-typical foraging behavior. Similar to other laboratory animals, the foraging drive is so strong in chickens that they will "work" for food in the presence of freely accessible identical food (Duncan and Hughes, 1972). "
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2007-01-22 18:12:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I keep a handful of chickens myself - the scratching area is not necessarily the run, especially if you raise them using the Balfour method. In the Balfour method you have a chicken house, a scratching area (where you dump all your table waste and compostable materials) where the chickens forage for food, creating great compost, and they get their exercise in the run. I don't think this is described anywhere on the Web, but it is certainly described in detail in John Seymour's great series of books on self sufficiency.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Not too surprising that you and Kim are 'egg heads' :-)
I used 'chicken run' for 'Auslaufflächen'. Thanks very much to you both."
+1
16 mins
Kim Metzger
Mexico
Mexico
Native in English
Mexico
Committed to Quality and Service
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
126
chicken runs
I used to raise chickens in California and Oklahoma - my chicken run was a huge back yard outside the pen.
Scharrräume – eingestreute Bereiche im Stallinnenbereich
http://orgprints.org/8215/01/8215-02OE343-ble-unikassel-2004...
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Note added at 25 mins (2007-01-22 16:19:35 GMT)
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Next best thing to free ranging.
Chicken Run
Animals need food, water, shelter and space to move – just like human beings. Rope off a pen about two metres by two metres. Pretend that you are chickens in the pen. It is a little bit squashed and you can think about why it isn’t very nice (can’t scratch, can’t flap your wings,
can’t run). You are then let out to run around and to become free-range organic chickens. If you were a farm animal, how would you prefer to live?
http://www.soilassociationscotland.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/e72f...$FILE/newsletter0306.pdf
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Note added at 45 mins (2007-01-22 16:39:45 GMT)
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It's hard to say for sure. Maybe Alison's "scratching area" is the best choice in your situation. But Auslaufflächen could be ranges.
"It is difficult to find a successful example in this country of fixed houses combined with green range. The practice tends to be successful for a year or two, until the over-manuring starts making it hard for plants to grow.
Until sometime in the 1950s, most chickens in the U.S. were raised on a grass range in the spring and summer, usually in portable range shelters that were moved with a tractor from time to time.
Range provided the growing chickens with plenty of room. Sunshine and green plants gave them high levels of vitamins. The dispersed nature of free-range flocks minimized disease, parasites, and crowding-related behavioral problems, none of which could be treated effectively at the time. The chicken manure was applied directly to the pasture, orchard, or cropland on which the chickens were housed. The chickens provided some of their own feed by foraging.
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/poulthous.html
Scharrräume – eingestreute Bereiche im Stallinnenbereich
http://orgprints.org/8215/01/8215-02OE343-ble-unikassel-2004...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 25 mins (2007-01-22 16:19:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Next best thing to free ranging.
Chicken Run
Animals need food, water, shelter and space to move – just like human beings. Rope off a pen about two metres by two metres. Pretend that you are chickens in the pen. It is a little bit squashed and you can think about why it isn’t very nice (can’t scratch, can’t flap your wings,
can’t run). You are then let out to run around and to become free-range organic chickens. If you were a farm animal, how would you prefer to live?
http://www.soilassociationscotland.org/web/sa/saweb.nsf/e72f...$FILE/newsletter0306.pdf
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 45 mins (2007-01-22 16:39:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
It's hard to say for sure. Maybe Alison's "scratching area" is the best choice in your situation. But Auslaufflächen could be ranges.
"It is difficult to find a successful example in this country of fixed houses combined with green range. The practice tends to be successful for a year or two, until the over-manuring starts making it hard for plants to grow.
Until sometime in the 1950s, most chickens in the U.S. were raised on a grass range in the spring and summer, usually in portable range shelters that were moved with a tractor from time to time.
Range provided the growing chickens with plenty of room. Sunshine and green plants gave them high levels of vitamins. The dispersed nature of free-range flocks minimized disease, parasites, and crowding-related behavioral problems, none of which could be treated effectively at the time. The chicken manure was applied directly to the pasture, orchard, or cropland on which the chickens were housed. The chickens provided some of their own feed by foraging.
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/poulthous.html
Note from asker:
| Hi Kim. Are you sure this isn't an "Auslaufflächen" as in the previous sentence? It would seem to fit that better, no? |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
John Speese
: I too raise chickens, and while scratching area is certainly acceptable, I think runs fits the register of the text
7 mins
|
| neutral |
Cetacea
: IMO, "chicken runs" are strictly outdoors, while "Scharrräume" can be indoors as well. Of course, the animals would prefer the chicken run solution...
1 hr
|
| neutral |
Alison Schwitzgebel
: Hi Kim! Funny how you used to and I still do keep chickens! I think it's more than a run - see my additional comment above.
2 hrs
|
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