Some students may recall that Eastern Mennonite University had a campus chicken coop. “All the chickens in the previous chicken coop were murdered,” said Emilee White, an upperclassman who is a member of the Students Engaging in Environmental Development and Stewardship (SEEDS) club. 

But there has since been a new coop built to house the ten new chickens that EMU will have to harvest eggs from. White has been very hands-on for this project of rebuilding a coop for the students. “I raised them with a little tote and a lamp,” she said, and motioned the length of a medium bag in her living room, “and then moved them to the new coop.”

The new coop is located behind the EMU turf field with an open patch of land surrounding it. White described the new location as “more secure,” adding that the coop is built further from the woods, which likely keeps them safer than before. When it comes down to renovations, White noted that although the weather set back the process of renovations that started around mid-October, there was a community of people who helped her patch rotted wood holes and fix fencing.

The new chickens are a variety of four different breeds: Rhode Island Reds, Anconas, pure white, and black. “I feed them twice a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening,” said White. She feeds the chickens starter feed because they are not big enough for regular pellets. The chickens are reportedly still too young to start harvesting eggs right now, but next year SEEDS plans to open up the coop to provide eggs to students without meal plans.They will open to students with meal plans as well, but they will prioritize students who may not have consistent access to food.