MUSKEGON, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan Farm News reports that consumer egg prices rose nearly 60% over the past 12 months according to the December Consumer Price Index. While most of the rising cost is due to the wave of avian flu last year across 47 states that claimed approximately 43 million egg-laying hens, high demand during the holiday season, supply chain problems and inflationary costs are also being blamed for the high prices.

With the price of a dozen eggs hitting $4.25 or more on average, some folks are looking at renting chickens (laying hens) to put in their backyards. There’s even a website called “Rent-the-Chicken” where you can find out where to find rental chickens in the state where you live and how much they will cost.

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Fox 11 in Los Angeles reports that chicken rental is an “alternative that’s gaining traction nationwide” so people can have their own personal stash of eggs.

With many localities now allowing homeowners to have a limited number of chickens, people who aren’t quite sure if they want to become permanent parents of fowl are hatching a plan and looking at renting them instead.

Michigan News Source found two chicken rental outfits on the west side of the state that can serve that need. The Rent the Chicken website lists “Homestead Rob & Susan,” who are out of Cassopolis, as serving Michiana as well as South Bend up to South Haven, Kalamazoo and surrounding areas. They sell different packages but a 2023 Standard rental package costs $495 and nets you a pair of chickens from April through October or May through November. The price includes delivery, setup and pickup of contents, two “Rent the Chicken” egg-laying hens, a standard chicken coop that can be easily moved (about 31” wide), one custom “Rent the Chicken” food dish, a water dish, 100 lbs. of chicken feed (organic feed available for $90 more), a quick guide for taking care of your chickens and a copy of “Fresh Eggs Daily” by Lisa Steele. Rob & Susan say that you will get about 8-14 eggs per week.

Rob & Susan’s animal family also includes rabbits, turkeys, ducks, two dogs and a cat but those aren’t listed for rent. The duo also offers a “Hatch the Chicken” program where they provide a mini incubator, seven fertile eggs and the information and supplies needed to hatch chickens for future egg-laying and other purposes.

Happy Acres Farms also rents chickens in Michigan (in addition to having egg delivery). They have a “West Michigan Rent-a-Chicken” Facebook page and their farm is in Montague on the west side of the state, about 25 minutes northwest of Muskegon.

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Leslie Bond Strychar, a veteran, owns the farm. In addition to raising chickens, her website says that she raises cows, pigs, horses, rabbits, chickens, peacocks and a turkey. She was previously affiliated with the “Rent a Chicken” website (not to be confused with Rent THE Chicken) but it closed down.

Previously, you could rent two chickens from her for $425 and that would get you two hens, coop, equipment, feed, delivery, setup and tear-down within a 50-mile radius of their farm in Montague.

Strychar told City Farmer News in an interview that renting chickens is “a way to test drive them to see if they’re a good fit for your family.”

Les Suitor, the creator behind the entire rental chicken concept, brought Happy Acres on board five years ago. She retired last year. This is their 7th year they’ve been renting chickens and each year they mix it up a little more. In addition to growing hay, they raise beef and pork for local customers and they also keep a shy peacock, a grumpy turkey, a lovable, mini donkey, a sweet, dutiful farm dog, and a herd of spoiled barn cats. 

Even though the rent-a-chicken concept seems to be gaining ground, if people are getting chickens because of high egg prices and thinking that it’s going to be CHEAPER to have chickens around instead of buying the eggs at the grocery store, the math in that comparison says differently.

If two chickens lay about a dozen eggs a week and the chicken renting season is May through October, that would net you 264 eggs for a chicken rental fee of $425 or more during a 22-week period. On the other hand, if you’re shelling out $4.25 a dozen every week, that’s only $93.50.

So even though renting chickens may sound like a good idea to you if you are staring at your breakfast plate and grumbling about egg prices, it’s probably prudent to do some research about chicken care before running a-fowl of what your time and budget allows.