Rent the Chicken brings the homestead life to you

By Kate Hill

For the past few years, Lisa Stevenson, of Hastings, has been giving Central New York families the experience of keeping backyard chickens without the commitment of year-round ownership.

Stevenson and her husband, Steve, are affiliate partners of Rent the Chicken (rentthechicken.com), a company that delivers egg-laying hens to renters in the spring and picks them up in the fall.

“There are various reasons for people to rent chickens — from couples that want to have a food source close to home to families that want to experience having chickens for their children,” said Stevenson. “We have grandparents that rent chickens for their grandchildren when they visit, [and we have] people who have thought about getting chickens but don't know where to start.”

Rental packages range from $475 to $875 and include two or four hens, depending on the type of package.

The chickens are typically between six months and two years old. Two hens are expected to produce eight to 14 eggs per week, while four hens lay 16 to 28 eggs per week.

Each rental also includes a portable chicken coop, food and water dishes, 100 to 200 pounds of chicken feed (optional non-GMO or organic feed available), a quick guide for taking care of the chickens, and a copy of “Fresh Eggs Daily” by poultry expert Lisa Steele.

The Stevensons deliver, set up and pick up all rentals for free if the renters are in Syracuse, Fabius, Skaneateles, Camillus, Oswego, Cicero, Manlius, Watertown, and other locations within 50 miles of Hastings. “The expressions and reactions of our renters when we deliver their chickens is priceless,” said Stevenson. “All of our renters are so excited when they see their chickens. We also love educating people about chickens and their eggs. Many incorrectly think a rooster is needed for a hen to lay eggs. [Also,] most people think eggs must be refrigerated, [but] most countries do not refrigerate eggs.”

At the end of the season (May through October), renters have the option of adopting the hens and keeping all their supplies if they decide they want to continue raising backyard chickens. They can also ask to rent the same hens the following spring.

Jenn and Phil Tompkins, of Freeport, Pennsylvania, co-founded Rent the Chicken in 2013 as a part-time way to supplement their income.

The couple now has more than 45 farmers and homesteaders around the United States and Canada who offer the Rent the Chicken service as an extension of their farms.

The Stevensons became affiliates in spring 2018 and started delivering chicken rentals the following spring.

Stevenson has been raising chickens for around 25 years, but she had not considered basing a business on them until she saw a Saturday morning news story highlighting a chicken rental company. At the time, however, she was still working a full-time corporate job. After retiring at the end of 2016, the idea came back to her, and she started searching online for chicken rentals.

“There were two companies and neither of them had affiliates in CNY,” she recalled. “Rent the Chicken did have an affiliate in the Capital region, so I contacted [them]. The next thing I know I'm talking to the owners of the company, and I decided to sign up. Much to the surprise of my husband, Steve. He thought I was crazy.”

When she started with Rent the Chicken, Stevenson had around 30 hens. Unfortunately, however, they were all too old to rent, so she had to purchase “started pullets,” chicks that are 16-17 weeks old and are about a month away from starting to lay eggs. Currently, she keeps a personal flock of 28 hens and a rooster and rents out between 80 and 90 hens per year. The Stevensons rent out a total of 30 hand-built coops, which come in two sizes, standard and deluxe. “Even though my husband told me when I signed up that he was not going to be building coops for me, [we designed and built] them all,” Stevenson said. “Steve does most of the building and I do most of the painting and staining.” Rent the Chicken is also offering "Hatch The Chicken," a five-week hatching rental with three weeks of incubator use and two weeks of baby chicks. “[We] also provide the experience of hatching chicks in your home, daycare, preschool, elementary school, senior community, etc.,” Stevenson explained. “We provide everything needed to hatch chicks and then watch the cute balls of fluff grow for two weeks. Then we pick everything up. There is no need to find homes for the chicks.”

In 2020, Stevenson joined the Women Business Opportunities Connection (WBOC) to help her develop the business.

WBOC is a Syracuse-based nonprofit organization supporting women in business through educational programs, networking, and collaborative opportunities.

Stevenson said that although she was only able to attend a few inperson meetings before the COVID-19 shutdown, her involvement with WBOC has already given her greater confidence in herself and connections to talented women.

“I know that some of the members have spread the word about Rent The Chicken to friends and family, which I really appreciate,” she said. “WBOC is a wonderful resource for women in all kinds of businesses.” SWM