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!

 

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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 :-)

 

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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

Welcome to 2021!

Hi all!

What a whirlwind of 2021 so far, right?! Every January, Homestead Phil and I host a Rent The Chicken Owners Conference for each of our Affiliate farm partners to be able to focus on growing their business, chat with other Affiliates, and enjoy a weekend away. We've hosted it in Myrtle Beach, Western Pennsylvania, and last year was our favorite - a luxury vacation home near Orlando, Florida! This year, with Covid, and Canada / USA borders closed, we had to make some changes like most other conferences and move to a virtual option. We started our weekend with special guests like Lisa Steele of Fresh Eggs Daily, the publisher of the Fresh Eggs Daily book - Paul Kelly of St Lynns Press, the Head Hen of Cutest Coops - Kathy, and Brad from Coop Dreams. Signe Langford who wrote Happy Hens & Fresh Eggs which is a book we provide in Canada made a video for us to share as she was unable to attend virtually. Oh my goodness, we did this fun activity to recreate the "American Gothic" image. We for sure had some good ones. Take a look:

We dove into "why" we each provide Rent The Chicken and Hatch The Chicken. It was moving as each of us have a different perspective on why we are in this crazy business. Stay tuned as I'm sure we'll be sharing some of the videos on our Facebook page as time continues. We covered parts of a book called Eat That Frog and ways to help reach each of you so you know what we have to offer through Rent The Chicken and Hatch The Chicken! Our friend and business coach, Wendy, joined us for a session as well! Check out the Group Photo!

Looking forward to hugging necks and seeing our attendees in person in 2022!

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.

"No Judgement Chicken Mentors"

This morning, as I was chatting with a renter who was signing up to reserve her Rent The Chicken Rental, she said "My farming friends keep saying to me 'Just get chickens' but I'm not ready for that! I need a 'no judgement' ..." As she was pausing to find the words I blurted out "We'll be your 'No Judgement Chicken Mentors'!" We laughed and she said that would be a great topic for a blog post. So here it is... "No Judgement Chicken Mentors"

I may or may not have had some judgement while in the midst of our TEN days at the Farm to Table section of the Pittsburgh Home & Garden Show recently. The "what if I eat the chicken?" comments weren't funny on day 1. They were internal sighing and eye-ball rolling by day 10! haha Nonetheless, we tried to be as fresh and as relaxed on day 10 as we were on day 1. We still said "If it's not a good fit, you can (pause) 'chicken-out'!" on day 10 :) Winters in Pennsylvania are a valid concern for chicken keeping. Instead of asking "What do you do with the chickens in the winter?" or "How do the chickens do in the winter?", many asked "What do you do in the winter?". I started answering honestly with "I watch a lot of Netflix." I would pause and then say "Thank you for asking.. How about you?" bwahahahahaha By then I had already made some jokes and said "chicken-out". All fun! The best was when a good looking guy with his very tall and attractive lady friend came over with their burly guy friend. Hook. Line. Sinker. He said "What do you do in the winter?" Keep in mind, this was day TEN of 10 and about an hour before the show was due to close. I said "Oh.. I watch a lot of Netflix. That's pretty personal to ask especially in front of your lady friend? What about you?" LOL He turned about 10 shades of red and his lady friend busted her little gut while the burly friend about fell over laughing! He said "I like you!". It was HILARIOUS.

There are thousands of ways to raise baby chicks and to have backyard hens. Not everyone (chicken keepers and non-chicken keepers alike) understand our business model and our coop choices. Our coops are portable which allows the chickens to feel like they are free ranging when the coop is moved but they are still very protected by the coop. A portable coop also means there won't be a build up of droppings or a dead spot in no time flat unlike a stationary coop. Our coops are a good size for the number of chickens that we provide with our rentals. If we made our coops larger, they would either not be moved as much or at all. Then we'd be back to square one with the dead spot and build up of droppings PLUS there would be more desire for free range time as the chickens would have zero access to grass. Speaking of free range time, we ask for all of our renters to ONLY free range WITH supervision. A responsible person should be outside and near the chickens when the chickens are roaming outside of the coop. But why? One word - Hawks. Overhead predators. Everything wants chicken for dinner when all you want is breakfast! Plus, if the chickens are always put in after supervised free range time, there is ZERO chance that they will be forgotten about and not locked in when the sun goes down. Spoiler: The rest of "everything wanting chicken for dinner" comes out when the sun goes down. It's ironic that the same people who are concerned that our coops are too small and ask if they are safe in the coop, are the same people who think the chickens need to be free ranging. Guess who free ranging is not so good for?

Another spoiler:

Remember, there are thousands of ways to have backyard hens! We know what works for our rentals, renters, and our rental hens. We encourage our renters to follow our recommendations and remind them they will receive 5-6 months of education during the rental. From there, they can make a super educated decisions on their long-term chicken-keeping goals. :)

For both Rent The Chicken and Hatch The Chicken, we ask for our renters to follow our recommendations. Are our recommendations the difference between life and death of the chicks & chickens? Sometimes it is! Other times it's ease of use. Other times it's predator control. Sometimes it's about egg production. We all do our best to be a "No Judgement Chicken Mentor" but you'll need to trust that we know what works for our rentals - Rent The Chicken and Hatch The Chicken. We want for our chickens and chicks to be safe and for each of our renters to have a great experience!

Never had backyard hens before? No problem! We will do our best to answer your questions with the same patience and sincerity as we answered in 2013-2014 when we first started answering rental questions. Heads up: If you ask what I do in the winter.. I will likely say "I watch a lot of Netflix." :)