Homestead Jenn checking in... Where are we now?

Hello!   Homestead Jenn, Co-Founder of Rent The Chicken, checking back in! I can't believe it's almost the end of April already! Where has time gone?!   Again, thank you to all who already made your reservation for 2026! Some of you have already participated in Hatch The Chicken for 2026. So amazing! For Hatch The Chicken rentals, we'll be in touch about a week before your delivery with more information. For Rent The Chicken rentals, we deliver in either April, May, or June depending on where you are located. Stay tuned for more details!

Some of you may recall that I was under the weather on and off in December and January. It hit me again early this month! I'm back to being healthy but being sick caused me to miss over two weeks of half marathon training. I'll report back on the race when I check in next time! Spoiler... it involves wearing a potato costume! haha

 

We had Spring-like weather last week only to dip into freezing temps again the last few days. We are hopeful that Spring has officially sprung! Homestead Phil (my husband and Co-Founder of Rent The Chicken) and I went for a nice motorcycle ride together last week. The weather was PERFECT!

 

---------

 

At any rate, I have more big news!

 

I have more locations to feature and announce as we continue to egg-spand:

 

Rent The Chicken backyard egg-laying hen rentals AND Hatch The Chicken 5-week hatching rentals are available in Tampa / St Petersburg, Florida and Rent The Chicken is available in Columbia, South Carolina!

 

Homestead Valynda is now offering Rent The Chicken and Hatch The Chicken rentals in Tampa / St Petersburg, Florida. Her photo is below with her lovely hen! Homestead Gary and his family (pictured below) are providing Rent The Chicken to the Columbia, South Carolina area.

 

Here are some links for both Hatch The Chicken and Rent The Chicken:

 

Tampa / St Petersburg, FL - Rent The Chicken

Tampa / St Petersburg, FL - Hatch The Chicken

Columbia, SC - Rent The Chicken

 

For all other areas:

To see a list of all of our Rent The Chicken locations - click here.

For all of our Hatch The Chicken locations - click here.

 

To reserve:

To place a Rent The Chicken reservation online in the USA - click here.

To place a Hatch The Chicken reservation online in the USA - click here.

To place a Rent The Chicken reservation online in Canada - click here.

To place a Hatch The Chicken reservation online in Canada - click here.

**For Hatch The Chicken, before reserving it is best to find out what dates are available in your region. Feel free to respond to this email and we'll be happy to send the available dates over to you!

 

Enjoy the sunshine!

Homestead Jenn

Rent The Chicken - Co-Founder 

Christmas Cookies, "Work Christmas Party", and Run Like No One Is Chasing Me!

 Hello again to old friends and new!

It has been on my heart and mind to continue with blog entries as often as possible.  So, here I go!  I LOVE to bake as you may know and especially for the holidays!  A friend asked recently as I posted a photo of "Cookie #12", "What do you do with all of these cookies?"  Well.. here's what I do:

• Platter for where ever we go for an event
• Plate for each local neighbor - I typically do this on Christmas Eve Eve!
• Each of our pastors receive a plate. 
• Small box to each of my cousins, aunts/uncles, siblings, parents
• We ship a big box to far away family and some friends
• Oh and I eat them. More than I should, probably? haha  They are just so tasty!  

Here's a beautiful platter I took to my sister's for Thanksgiving!  

I made a bunch of flavors since then and I have 6-8 more kinds to go if I'm really ambitious!  I think a cookie that is creeping up to be one of my top faves is a new cookie for me as of last year - Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip!  It has big chocolate chips and mini-chocolate chips! I'll keep you posted!  Here's a link to the recipe at BunsInMyOven.com Of course I doubled it but should have tripled it - well except it wouldn't have fit into my mixing bowl!

As you may know, our Affiliate Partners are all over the USA & Canada.  As I mentioned previously, Homestead Miranda works the phones and completes a lot of admin items but does so remotely.  Since Homestead McKenna is local to us and works at our home office in her own space, I decided we needed to have an official "Work Christmas Party"!  I remember old work Christmas parties were so fun!  Usually everyone brought food to share and maybe there was a white elephant gift exchange or a secret Santa.  Yesterday, after chatting with Homestead Phil prior, I announced to Homestead McKenna that we planned on taking some time during her shift to have a "Work Christmas Party"!  I said I'd make some delish food, we'd feast, and enjoy some time together.  She was so excited and planned to wear festive clothes - which I've been doing since Thanksgiving! haha  You probably hardly recognize us without our blue Rent The Chicken shirts on! 

• I made this Short Rib Instant Pot recipe from OhSweetBasil.com  We purchased the ribs right from our local farm friends.  If you don't buy direct from a farmer or from a farmers market. Please consider it!
  
• I use this bbq sauce recipe instead of the one they have in their recipe. Of course I double it. Combine all ingredients in a stove top pot and bring to a low simmer for five minutes. As much as I LOVE Sweet Baby Rays.... this is a million times better!
  

1 c ketchup
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp paprika

• This AMAZING Gouda based Mac & Cheese recipe. I love it! It's not my go to and I make it only for special occasions like a Work Christmas Party and in my cast iron pan of course! ButterBeReady.com
• I also made this delish go to Cornbread recipe again in a cast iron skillet - BlessThisMessPlease.com
  

WOW! My belly is FULL.... I really should go for a long-ish run today but the full belly is delaying my desire to run.  It is nearly 60F outside though! Decisions Decisions!

The saying "run like someone is chasing me" is not true for me.  I literally run like no one is chasing me If they were, they'd for sure catch me! haha  I participated in my 5th half marathon of 2021 and ever for me in November.  My Mom has been a great pit crew for me for a few races this year and this race was no different!  My cousin Eric carted his mom, my Aunt Mary, and my Mom for the entire race where the trail crossed over a road.  They had a great time and it was super encouraging me to have them cheering for me!  I share the following collage to show off my Rent The Chicken gear and my lovely sparkly skirt that was gifted to me recently. It's not my kind of style at all but I love it!  I receive so many compliments on it!!  The second photo isn't very clear but I see so much strength and determination in my entire being in the photo!  The third photo is of my pit and support crew!  YAY!  And finally... my final race metal of 2021! I participated in 12 races in 2021. 5 half marathons, 2 5ks, 2 10ks, a 100 mile relay, 1 miler, and a 10 miler. 16 months ago, I was excited to make it a mile! As I mentioned previously, I do walk / run intervals so I'm not running the entire distance.  But my foot crosses the finish line every time whether it's a training run or a race just like someone who runs the whole thing.  Praise be to God!

Seize the day!  Reach out to a friend or family member that you haven't chatted with in awhile. Enjoy those around you.  Bake or buy a batch of cookies and give them to a neighbor just because!  Thanks for reading!  You are appreciated!

New leaf? Old leaf? Leave it? Enjoy the leaves?

Oh friends... old and new!

It's been on my heart to put some of my words into my blog again. My last stint of blogging only lasted a month (and I typically would only blog once a week!). I did make the statement that I was not claiming to turn over a new leaf because I didn't know how long I would make it a priority for. So many instead of turning over a new leaf, I'm just going to dig up an old leaf in this blog? I enjoy connecting with others in this way to move to just leave it and I think I'd just like to enjoy the leaves I have here on the blog when I take the time to be engulfed in the process. Wow that was a lot of words without saying much of anything! :)

I think if there's a time in my life that I can make an effort to dedicate back to blogging, now is the time. I go through phases in life where I'm a big hot mess and other phases where I really feel like I'm adulting well and keeping my priorities in order. I'm definitely in a current phase where I feel pretty confident that I'm actively making wise choices, helping others, being healthy-ish, fairly active, a decent wife, and spiritually connected with God. Maybe best ever actually. But you know... when you say bold statements like that, the world comes crashing down around you! So maybe I take back that "best ever". haha

In all seriousness, Rent The Chicken has been growing with more and more amazing Affiliate Partners. We are always actively looking to grow as well. If there's not an Affiliate Partner in your area and you're looking to expand your hobby farm / homestead / farm to have a (or an additional) revenue stream, let's chat! Click here for more details regarding our Affiliate Program.

At our local level, more than a year ago, we brought on Homestead Miranda to help with the phones, emails, supporting various Affiliates, etc. She's AMAZING! Depending on the day you make a call to us, you may chat with Homestead Miranda! Before Homestead Miranda, we hired Homestead Isabella here in Western Pennsylvania to tackle cleaning all of our Hatch The Chicken supplies. Oh my! Homestead Phil was THRILLED to be released from Hatch The Chicken cage and supply cleaning! In the Spring, Homestead McKenna came on board to deliver and pick up Hatch The Chicken rentals. This was part of Homestead Phil's duties as well so he gained another number of hours per week with Homestead McKenna's help. Six or weeks ago, Homestead McKenna added Rent The Chicken Phone Extraordinaire to her Hatch The Chicken Transporter Liaison role. So now when you give us a call or receive a call from us, you might chat with me, Homestead Phil, Homestead Miranda, or Homestead McKenna! With all of the support here at The Homestead, I really feel like I can better support each of our Affiliate Partners, continue to work on tweaking the behind the scenes efforts of Rent The Chicken and Hatch The Chicken, and work on being purposeful with my health, fitness level, relationships, and my faith.

Almost two years ago on this very blog, I outted myself in regards to Intermittent Fasting. I've continued the adventure and I cannot even believe #1 that I've stuck with it and #2 I've continued to slim down and not gain back the weight. WOW! If you've read some blog posts from yesteryear, you may realize that we are "go big or go home" people. Well... I've rephrased it to "go big or stay home"! I blogged previously also about dabbling in some running. I'm back in full force! I laced up my running shoes in August of 2020 when I met a substantial weight loss goal, and I have been running 3-4 days a week since. I still use Jeff Galloway's Run / Walk / Run Philosophy. I LOVE it so much! Of course I sport the Rent The Chicken logo whenever I can!

Because I'm so focused on my next interval cue, and my next step, and breathing, there's ZERO space in my brain for anything else! I perused my older blogs about running and I was injured and still posted my pace times. I'm on average 4 minutes faster per mile now than I was in 2018. WOW! (I mean and nearly 60 pounds less!) I've been participating in some foot races even! I am not out to break records or "win" but I am out there to prove to myself that I can do it and that I can do my best to do better than my last event. In the Spring when I started to accumulate finisher medals, Homestead Phil gifted me with this lovely medal holder. These are all from the last 12 months! Needless to say, I've been wearing out my running shoes and grinning while taking it all in!

I'm in the thick of holiday cookie baking and planning for our Annual Holiday Dinner as well as our Rent The Chicken Owners Conference. Busy and more busy! I'll keep you posted and I promise it won't be so long before my next entry! I mean... I have another half marathon in just over a week and I know you'll be on pins and needles (whatever that means) for my race report! :)

Blog-iversary!

Tomorrow marks one year since starting my blog! Hooray!

I logged 56 entries which is an average of one per week. Technically I met my goal of one per week except that I cranked out 6-8 entries in the first 4 months, barely blogged in the summer, and made a decent come back in the fall into winter. I read a few of my early entries for some retrospect and realized I promised to fill you in on the infamous video of me chasing a chicken. There's two versions but I'll play the sped up edited version set to music! Hold tight though... a few updates first:

• My running career is non-existent. By the time my lungs recovered from six weeks of coughing, the weather was freezing, the roads were snow/ice covered, and I was not motivated. The weather was nicer this week albeit muddy so Homestead Phil and I took a few walks!
• We are still praying for direction as to our family size. We are hyper focused on serving one another and growing our businesses: Rent The Chicken and The Chicken Network. We're always focused on growing our businesses but this time of year requires extra focus and we are not skimping on the focus.
• I've never been one to select a "theme" or a "word of the year" but this year I have one. I'll likely dedicate a blog post to it at some point but here's a sneak peak - 2019 The Year of The Harvest!
• We have a big big big project we've been working on that we will announce on February 17th unless there's a change in our schedule. Stay tuned!

Let's talk about ways to catch a chicken! Have you seen this meme? It cracks me up every time!

Also, in an older Rocky movie as well as in Creed, there are iconic scenes during training where a chicken is being caught to train for speed and agility. You know the scene, right? I'll link to clips below. We've no joke had a swim coach call to arrange for us to bring a few chickens for his team to "train like Rocky". Once the swim team was done chasing chickens around, the Rent The Chicken kid swooped in and picked up the chickens like a boss! haha

Rocky:


Creed:


Are you ready to watch the coveted "How to catch a runaway chicken" video? I'll set the scene: Homestead Phil recorded from his second floor office rather than coming outside to help me. We've remodeled our bulk chicken keeping area since then. The original video has Homestead Phil commentary but this version is set to Benny Hill and sped up. No more spoilers though! I've gotten much better in almost five years!

Without further ado, the never published on my blog video of me chasing a chicken circa Spring 2014:



For those who prefer unedited versions of productions (word use very loosely in this case!) here is the original with Homestead Phil commentary:


Proof that I can catch a chicken or at least hold one? haha:

Mic drop

The Shift.

This time of year is full of resolutions and goal setting. It can also be a time of reflection on previous goals and resolutions. This time of year for us is a big shift. The last month or so, I've been sick twice (boo!), and will the number of incoming calls decreasing, instead of sitting at my desk, I made good use of baking cookies & spending extra time with loved ones. I wrote about a lot of that last week.

The week after New Years for us is always about The Shift. The Shift from a slower pace being plopped right back into the swing of things. Every January, we host our Rent The Chicken Owners Conference inviting all of our Rent The Chicken Affiliates to a local conference to kick off the upcoming Rental Season. Homestead Phil and I work on sessions that we will present at the conference, meals, social times, etc. We work on coordinating logistics, prepare the itinerary, and more. At the same time, we start to hear from more of you via email, telephone, smoke signal (j/k .. seeing if you're still reading!). We also increase our Affiliate Group Conference Call schedule from once a month to every other week through April. Soon, one of us will always have to be home during the work day as the calls get to be so often that they are hard to field on the road with just the iPad. I am not even complaining! Incoming calls are needed or we won't be renting chickens! As even more time continues, both of us have to be home during regular business hours. Homestead Phil ran a report recently on our incoming calls of April - June of 2017 vs April - June of 2018. We had over 900 more calls in that three month period in 2018 than 2017! Say, what?! We anticipate that 2019 will have an even higher inbound call volume!

We set a number of business goals but not typically many personal goals. Maybe this year will be different. I'm fairly certain, one can make new goals even without changing the year, right?

One goal: running. I really hope to be able to start running again soon. With two major sinus infections that caused my lungs to not function to full capacity in the last 5 weeks, I haven't been able to get out even when the weather has been nice enough. Maybe within the next week, my lungs will cooperate and I'll be able to share my running adventures again!

We were on a workation recently and Givi Kitty joined us in our little RV. We started using this term a few years ago where we are still connected to our phones / emails / social media, etc but we are working off-site or unavailable for a few hours during the week day. We could NEVER go on a workation in May for reasons I explained above. I think I could learn a lot from Givi Kitty as I likely don't rest enough. (I think she could learn from me as I don't think she works enough! haha) Here are some pics we snapped of her during our workation.

Running Update - November 21, 2018

Since my last running update, I've only been out two times. I'm still being very cautious to not cause more injury/injuries to my legs. The new fancy compression socks have been working wonders! I now have a pair to wear during recovery as well. I should have ran yesterday but alas I have a million reasons why I did not. Today, I was just far too busy and tomorrow is not going to be above freezing.

I was very pleased with my times and my lack of pain following the run. For those of you who are new to reading about my running adventures, I apply the Run / Walk / Run philosophy by Jeff Galloway. I'm currently pacing at running for 15 seconds followed by a brisk walk at 30 seconds. I'm not the fastest but I sure am faster than I would be if I tried to slowly jog the whole distance without any walk breaks.

Here's a pic of my fancy socks and new running shoes. It did take me about 8 photos to get even this one. It's hard to be working on a warm up walk and try to snap a photo at the same time! haha

And here's a snap shot of my distance and time. I feel like I'm on the upswing of my awful times from when I was in pain or trying to avoid injury albeit still a minute slower on the first mile than I'd like to be. At the same time, it's been in the 40s while out there. I hear that causes some slow down while running as well?

Running Update - November 9, 2018

I survived my "long run" last Saturday - 3 miles! My legs felt fairly good and my lungs held up! I was so pleased although my pace did slow as the miles continued. Considering I was on the injured list recently, I was very happy to get out there three times last week! I'm going to be brave and post my times! I warned you that I'm not a fast runner and it had been a month since my last "long run" of 2.5 miles. With using the Run / Walk / Run ratios, as long as my legs keep from hurting, I can go quite a long distance compared to if I just ran without the walk breaks.

I had been eying up a 5k race on the 10th. In order to have my "long run" day line up with the race day, I had to give myself an extra rest day after the long run. It made a lot of sense since I really don't want to be injured. So I took Sunday off and my legs felt great! I rested on Monday as well and my legs still felt great! I got ready for my run on Tuesday and my legs hurt before I even got ready for the run. :( I went anyway and my times were awful. I was slow because it wasn't comfortable. I've been in touch with my half marathon runner and blogger friend, Becky ('lil Burghers and MrsGregWillis.com). She recommended for me to purchase a roller of sorts for my legs. I also reached out to a high school friend regarding compression socks and she gave some great recommendations! First one being, take an ice cold bath to soak my legs after the run for 10-15 minutes. Say, what? She also recommended wearing a hoodie while soaking as it would be cold. Yes. It was. BUT it was magical! My legs felt better! Here's my times from that awful run on Tuesday: (I may need to add another topic to my blog as this run was not FUN!)

My legs were still a bit sore yesterday although I planned on running anyway BUT.. since it starts to get dark at like 3pm (I joke of course), I didn't make it out. It's been pouring down rain all day today and it's cold. (Am I making excuses?) We'll have to leave soon to visit our Amish friend. Maybe if we get back before dark, I'll make it out. Otherwise, my compression socks should arrive tomorrow so maybe I'll give my legs one more day to rest and get out tomorrow! My high school friend is in the compression socks industry but she has been ill. When she's feeling better, I'll disclose where I got the fancy socks from!

Needless to say, I won't be at the 5k race tomorrow. I think I need to just focus on keeping my legs healthy and enjoying the running. It's crazy that I actually do enjoy it and no one is chasing me! :)

Meal Planning - I'm not great at it!

On Monday, at 6:30pm, I pulled a 7.5# ham from the freezer. I didn't have a plan but I quickly realized that we would NOT be having ham for dinner as it was going to take some time to defrost and then take about 2 hours to heat after defrosting.

I ended up making this DELICIOUS Buffalo Mac and Cheese recipe! A few notes:

• I forgot I am a blogger so I didn't take any photos
• I doubled the recipe except for the hot sauce because I don't really like spicy foods
• I used my fancy huge skillet from Pampered Chef similar to the one found here that can be used in the oven
• I didn't use the recipe's Planko recommendation and just liberally sprinkled Progressive Italian Breadcrumbs on top before baking

We still didn't eat until 9pm.

I cooked the ham the next night again not starting it until well after 6pm leaving dinner to be at 8pm and I failed at making any sides! We ended up with hot ham sandwiches. Legit ham but sandwiches nonetheless. Ironic that most people have ham sandwiches on the last day of finishing off a ham and I made them on the first night? :) I have high hopes for making three ham related recipes in the next few days plus we're having a pot luck at church on Sunday so I'm sure I'll take one of them!

• Cheesy Ham Potato Soup - Note: I don't boil the halves of potatoes separately. I chop all of them and pull out what I consider to be the quantity to match the halves. It cuts the cooking time down.
• Hearty Ham Potato Casserole - I've been making this one for a number of years and it is also DELISH! I double the recipe and we eat it for days!
• Ham & Scalloped Potatoes - I haven't made this one yet but I'm digging up recipes as someone recommended for me to make it when I posted about my ham dilemma above on Facebook. I'm up for the challenge but there are A LOT of ways to make it. With or without cheese? With a rue or without? I think I'm going to make it for dinner tonight once I find a recipe - It's only 6pm. Plenty of time for those raw potatoes to bake!

I've done some vague meal planning in the past. I think I should get back to it. It narrows down the grocery shopping and it cuts down on my brain power usage on a daily basis. Plus, Homestead Phil gets hungry about this time of the evening. It would be nice if I had some dinner ready sometime around now rather than at 8-9pm!

As a side note, I also have a running update! I went running (you know I use that term loosely!) twice this week. I stayed with my previous ratio of run 15 seconds / walk 30 seconds. I also used my new shoes with my old "old lady" inserts. PLUS, the dirt road near our homestead that received new rocks recently has now evened back out without large rocks randomly about. My times were a bit slower than my recent ratio but I'm still pleased. I think I'll stick with the 15/30 ratio for at least another week before changing my ratios again. Tomorrow is my "long run" of 3 miles! Praying my calves hold up and I can keep up this new hobby!

PS - I'll do better about taking pics for my blog throughout the week!

I am a runner!

Towards the beginning of September, I started running again. Nothing was even chasing me! I started running in 2013 and ran my first 5k in December of 2013. Pre-run pic of Homestead Phil, his winter beard, and I.

I ran a second 5k in 2014.


I started running a few times since then but time would get away from me. I am chubby and I'm sure it looks unnatural when I'm out there giving it a go! When I went away for a Girls' Weekend recently, I even lured two of my cousins into joining me!

I feel like I'm cheating though as I don't just run. I apply a Run / Walk / Run philosophy by Jeff Galloway. I use an app called Easy 5k which makes "running" doable for me. Find the app here on the App Store. Jeff believes that even the best of marathon runners should take a walk break for quicker recovery, motivate non-runners to run, improvement of overall run times.

When I first started running this go around, I started with the same ratio I used previously which was run (or in my case jog slowly) for one minute then walk for 30 seconds. My times were in the tank... slower than ever before! I kept at it though! I then looked up the various ratios to see what ratio I should be using for my per mile times. I was WAY off! I needed to be at run 10 seconds / walk 45 seconds. Say, what? Hardly sounds like a run at all! Looked more like a walk with run breaks rather than vice versa! I dropped 1 minute and 45 seconds to my mile time switching from 60 sec run / 30 sec walk! That moved my ratio to 15 sec run / 30 sec walk which dropped another 15-20 seconds to my mile time! Here's my view on some of my long run days! If that doesn't motivate me to run, I don't know what will?!

After a week or so at that ratio, it was time to switch to another ratio. I tried 15 sec walk / 15 sec run. WOW! That did not provide enough walk breaks so I switched back to 15 / 30 and then tried 20/40. After the 15/15 ratio, something happened to my calves. My next run two days later at 15/30 still caused pain to my calves. I took a few days off from running and tried it again. I could make it about a mile at a fairly decent time for my ratio and abilities but after a mile my calves hurt fairly badly. :( So I bought some new running shoes and new what I call "old lady" inserts. I've been using inserts in my shoes for a number of years due to pain in my heels. I used my new running shoes and new inserts last Saturday and my calves still hurt after just over a mile. After consulting some running friends, it seems as though I injured myself (clearly!) and that I wasn't giving enough recovery time before trying again. I also may need to bump back down to 15 / 30 until I know for sure that my calves are healed. Usually it's my lungs that give me a hard time but I've been fairly good about using my inhaler as I'm preparing to run. So here I sit, six days after my last run, longing to get out there again but don't want to be in pain. This getting old stuff is for the birds! (See what I did there? haha) I'm hoping to get out there tomorrow with my new shoes and inserts again! I really do enjoy it! It also somehow helps provide clearer thought to my mind after I've run.

So any non-runners or previous-runners want to download the app and join in on my fun? The fall is the best time to start running! I much prefer running in cooler weather than in hot weather! The first run is 15 minutes. You can do it!