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 

Homestead Phil - Checking in! Is it garden season yet?

 Hello!

 

Thank you to all who already made your reservation for 2026! 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!

 

Homestead Phil checking in! I'm the Co-Founder of Rent The Chicken alongside my wife, Homestead Jenn. She asked for me to say hello from her and that she's keeping busy and clucking along! :)

 

I thought I might jump in here and say "HELLO". I am so ready for summer to be here. In Western PA we have had 70-degree days followed shortly after with snow falling. Do I plant my onions, or do I wait another week?

 

I was excited to pull my motorcycle out the other week and take a ride 'around the block', which really means through the township. It felt good to get out and to be in the sun, even if there were still some remnants of snow along the side of the road.  

 

I hope all of you are as excited about the warm weather as I am! I am almost jealous of this last week's weather forecast that I saw from Arizona. If you are there, don't worry, it's a dry heat :-)

 

---------

 

At any rate, Homestead Jenn asked me to share 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 Raleigh / Durham, NC and Los Angeles, CA in 2026! AND Hatch The Chicken is now available in South Central Kentucky!

 

We previously had Affiliate Partners in both Raleigh / Durham and in Los Angeles. Rentals in these areas are baaaaaaaack! Homestead Michelle & her family are providing Rent The Chicken & Hatch The Chicken to Raleigh / Durham, NC. Homestead Maria & her brother Homestead Juan are providing Rent The Chicken & Hatch The Chicken to Los Angeles, CA! Homestead Jeff & Andrea are providing Hatch The Chicken to South Central Kentucky It's all egg-citing!

 

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

 

Raleigh / Durham, NC - Rent The Chicken

Raleigh / Durham, NC - Hatch The Chicken

Los Angeles, CA - Rent The Chicken

Los Angeles, CA - Hatch The Chicken

South Central Kentucky - Hatch 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!

 

Sending some chicken love to you!

Homestead Phil

Rent The Chicken - Co-Founder 

Feels like Springtime... but it isn't!

 Hello!

 

Homestead Jenn checking in!

 

Again, thank you to all who already made your reservation for 2026! 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!

 

Wow... I know people can't stop talking about the snow (and apparently the Half-time Show but that's not what I'm going to chat about that!)! Here in Western Pennsylvania, we had about 18" of snow fall in about a 36 hour period on January 25-26! There's still a lot of snow outside but today's high is 51F (10C) so we are hopeful for a lot to melt today. We are thinking about Spring, baby chicks, chickens, and fresh eggs over here!

 

Yesterday, after all of the frigid temps recently, it was like a heat wave at 32F (0C) and the roads were clear enough for Homestead Phil (my husband and Co-Founder of Rent The Chicken) and I to bundled up and took a 26 minute brisk walk. It was glorious! See below for a photo.

 

In my last message, I mentioned that I had been sick. I felt better and went on a cruise to the Bahamas with my mom, my cousin, her daughter, and 6 of my mom's friends. See below for a beautiful photo I took from the ship. It was warm and lovely! My mom even zip-lined for the first time with some of her friends. I stayed on the ground where I was comfortable! haha Then... I got sick AGAIN when I got home. I'm feeling better now and hoping to not relapse ... again.

 

At any rate, I have more big news! Last time I wrote using this format, I announced that we now have Rent The Chicken rentals available again in New Jersey. Hooray!

 

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

 

Rent The Chicken backyard egg-laying hen rentals are available in all of Salt Lake City, Utah, Dallas / Fort Worth, and Kamloops and Okanagan, British Columbia in 2026!

 

For Rent The Chicken rentals, we've had Affiliate Partners in Dallas / Fort Worth previously as well as in the Interior of British Columbia. Rentals in these areas are baaaaaaaack! Here are some links for both Hatch The Chicken and Rent The Chicken:

 

Salt Lake City & Utah Valley - Rent The Chicken

Salt Lake City & Utah Valley - Hatch The Chicken

Dallas, Texas - Rent The Chicken

Dallas, Texas - Hatch The Chicken

Fort Worth, Texas - Rent The Chicken

Fort Worth, Texas - Hatch The Chicken

Kamloops & Salmon Arm, BC - Rent The Chicken

Kamloops, BC - Hatch The Chicken

Kelowna & Vernon, BC - Rent The Chicken

Kelowna, Salmon Arm, & Vernon - Hatch The Chicken

 

Homestead John & Rachel are providing Rent The Chicken & Hatch The Chicken to Dallas and Fort Worth. Homestead Mollie has been with us for about a year offering Hatch The Chicken to the interior of British Columbia but decided to offer Rent The Chicken as well! Homestead Devin join us last summer to offer Rent The Chicken & Hatch The Chicken to her local area in Utah. It's all egg-citing!

 

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 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 I'll be happy to send the available dates over to you!

 

Wow.. I had more to say than I thought! Some of you who know me aren't surprised though! haha Until next time...

 

Stay warm and chat soon!

-Homestead Jenn

Rent The Chicken - Co-Founder 

Is this thing on?

 

Hello!   Homestead Jenn checking in! This post was from mid-January but I forgot to hit "publish" since it has been so long since I used this as a creative outlet! We are clucking along here in the New Year! Thank you to all who already made your reservation for 2026! Wow! We are making a lot of chicken dreams come true this year! 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.   It has been a snowy and cold winter here in Western Pennsylvania. The snow has melted but we will see more soon... no doubt! Hens lay eggs based on daylight hours. With increased daylight hours, their egg production is slowly picking back up! For those who don't know, I'm quite the fitness junky. I've been sick on and off since Thanksgiving with respiratory issues so my fitness schedule came to a screeching halt! I went for one single run in December which was on Christmas Day. Homestead Phil, my husband and Co-Founder of Rent The Chicken, joined me as the weather was gorgeous! Pic or it didn't happen photo included below. (Well... for winter in Western Pennsylvania!) I'm feeling better and went for 3 walks in the past week so I'm well on my way to start running again. Hooray! At any rate, I have BIG news!   Rent The Chicken backyard egg-laying hen rentals are available in all of New Jersey for 2026!   Homestead Mike & Judy (pictured below with their kiddos, some of their chickens, and kitty) live in South Jersey and are egg-cited to offer Rent The Chicken in New Jersey! Here are links to the Rental Packages: Central / Southern New Jersey Northern New Jersey   To reserve online for a New Jersey (or anywhere in the USA) Rent The Chicken rental of backyard laying hens, click here. If you're in Canada near one of our locations, click here to reserve.   We also have Hatch The Chicken rentals available in New Jersey. Click here for more information. To reserve online for a New Jersey (or anywhere in the USA) Hatch The Chicken program to experience baby chicks hatching, click here. If you're in Canada near one of our locations, click here to reserve our Hatch The Chicken program. Stay warm and chat soon! -Homestead Jenn Rent The Chicken - Co-Founder

SNOW!

We were warned about a big snow storm and we were ready! Or ready enough anyway! Then it happened: in about 20 hours, 14-16" of snow fell. Even for us seasoned winter participants, that's still a lot of snow and it came fast!

For about a half of one second, I considered suggesting that we go sledding. Then I remembered how much my body ached after the last time. haha! My least favorite part of sledding? Walking back up the hill and in our case in 14-16" of snow. EEK!

Homestead Phil did the majority of the shoveling (whew), dug a path for the UPS & FedEx delivery guys, and a path around the vehicles.

For perspective on how much snow fell, Homestead Phil snapped this photo of our rental coops. There are not any hens in these coops! If so, we would have shoveled around and put some plastic around 3/4 of the sides to help block the wind and on the top of the run extension to keep the snow out.

It was warm enough to take time for a selfie next to one of our Omlet Cube coops to show off the mass amount of snow on top of it (and the rental coops in the background!). These photos are from yesterday. Some of the snow has melted since then but there's still A LOT of snow out there! :)

To continue the trend of wearing my Christmas shirts around the house, I prrresent to you one of my favorites!

We just finished writing our annual Christmas Letter - yes! We are *those* people! :) I hope you are staying warm wherever you are!

-Homestead Jenn

My business heart hurts.

Is that a thing? "business heart"? Let's say it's a thing. Mine is hurt.

Homestead Phil, each of our Affiliate Partners, and I work really hard to provide these fantastic products of Rent The Chicken and Hatch The Chicken. We strive to have ethical standards of business practices as well as farming / homesteading practices. Certainly our service isn't for everyone! That's OK.

Now and again, potential renters ask "what happens to the chicks / chickens at the end of the rental?". I chuckle and make light saying "We don't have a big barbecue that's for sure!" They chuckle then I provide a more in depth response.

Sometimes, potential renters state "Someone said you kill all of the baby chicks after the rental.". Wait. What? Someone said *WE* do what? Who said that? This week, some one said they read it on a website. Certainly not our website! Those babies are worth more to us and our Affiliate partners as live baby chicks than dead baby chicks. :(

Here are a number of scenarios as to what happens to the baby chicks after our Hatch The Chicken program is complete:

The girls are raised to be hens for Rent The Chicken

The girls are raised as breeding stock for Hatch The Chicken

The boys are raised to be roosters to fertilize eggs for Hatch The Chicken

The girls are raised to lay eggs for our families

The boys are raised to protect our flocks to help keep them safe

The chicks are sold to families looking to expand their flocks

The roosters are sold to families looking to protect their flock

I can't confirm what other organizations do with their baby chicks after a hatching program but I know with my whole heart that all of the chicks hatched with our Hatch The Chicken program provide a purpose following the rental. We value their lives and value what they bring to our business and those who participate in our programs.

Ready or not... 2020 is coming!

Hello!

We made it through Thanksgiving and Christmas and now we are clearly approaching New Years and then for us that means January "workation" and our Rent The Chicken Owners Conference!

This time of year comes with goal setting and reflecting. Are there things that I wanted to happen in 2019 and they just didn't? Of course! At the same time, so many other things were knocked out of the park without expectation! We are blessed! We made some big change personally and professionally which certainly had an impact on exceeding our expectations.

One area was my health. You may not know this but I am overweight. It was just getting to the point that I was having a hard time bending over for long periods of time, getting out of bed, and fitting into areas or "squeezing" through areas that had plenty of space for most people. At the same time, I just lowered my expectations to know that I would just be overweight forever. I lost some weight on accident in 2014 (building 54 coops in the front yard in 3 months!) and in 2017 (keeping up with a 6 year old!). Before that, I only ever tried two diets. One when I was in college which was a true diet saying how much and if what to eat at each meal (think tuna salad and raw veggies). The other one was fairly simple - eat when hungry, stop when full, and pray like crazy in between to not eat! I maintained for a number of years with that philosophy and a well used gym membership. I enjoy going to the gym but gym memberships where we live while working from home are far from convenient. (Yes, that's an excuse! haha) I do enjoy running but don't make it a priority.

Just like there are a number of ways to start with backyard hens, there are a number of ways to lose weight. This time of year many make resolutions to lose weight. My resolution is to keep off the weight I’ve lost in the last few months and continue to lose. However you are working to lose weight or maintain, are you able to continue if you have a major job change? An injury? An emotional life change? I have been overweight most of my married life and sturdy prior to that. Miscarrying babies wrecked my already a mess hormones which didn't help with weight loss / weight gain. One year, I cut out soda (and even now I only drink maybe 1-2 a month if that). It was also when I started running for the first time. After a month of running three times a week 3-6 miles per week and no soda, I lost 2 pounds. People always say the easiest way to lose weight is to stop drinking soda. Well... I proved them wrong! haha

You may have seen in the news recently about Intermittent Fasting? People who have never been able to lose or never been able to keep it off are losing and keeping it off BUT... the health benefits are astounding! Even people who don't need to lose are fasting for health reasons. Diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure - they are all decreasing! Again not just with weight loss but those who don't need to lose weight have these health benefits from Intermittent Fasting. There are a number of effective intermittent fasting principles. These fasting hours are with water, black coffee, tea without sugar or cream, pickle juice, olives, and possibly homemade bone broth. Some people don't eat for 16 hours (including sleeping of course) and eat meals without snacks during an 8 hour time window. Others build up to 36 or 42 hours of fasting. When some eat, they eat keto or low carb / high fat or just their regular diet at meals without snacking. The huge benefit I see with this program is the higher probability to keep the weight off and continue with the health benefits once goal weight is reached. Since I'm not restricting my regular diet during my eating windows, there's no risk of adding too much "bad foods" as foods are integrated back in if that makes sense? Granted, once goal weight is reached, I will still need to fast a few times a week to maintain but I can plan that around scheduled events without an issue! I can successfully be in a vehicle and not *need* snacks and I baked without taste testing during a fast last weekend. Amazing! Anyway... I could say a whole lot more but I'll save that for another time.

I started this "Way of Life" or "Way of Eating" (or not eating as it may be! haha) on September 19th. I was sick in October and again for 3 weeks from mid-November through beginning of December and was not able to fully fast like I wanted but still did my best. Currently, I'm down about 25 pounds and dropped entire pant size with another size change coming soon!

Here are some helpful tidbits - Buy The Obesity Code by Dr Jason Fung. Read the back two sections first "What to Eat" and "When to Eat". No snacks. Plan your fasts around celebrations to not miss them because of your "diet". Change up your fasting "schedule" to keep it challenging and exciting! (If you are on any medication that requires food intake, please consult your doctor before attempting Intermittent Fasting.) Find a friend who is doing this and be accountable. More people are Intermittent Fasting than you know about! It's kind of a Fight Club mentality of "What happens in Fight Club, stays in Fight Club" but with Intermittent Fasting. There are a lot of myths about it like I'm starving myself and my body isn't getting the nutrients that it needs, etc. My body has plenty of nutrients to feed off of while I'm fasting. Don't worry :) So I'm breaking the rules a bit by publicly outing myself and hoping for not a lot of backlash. Please be kind to me for being open about this as it's working for me and tens of thousands of others (that I know about!).

Happy New Year!