Backyard Rental Chickens Gather Momentum
US - The growing popularity of hobby hens in the suburban US has seen a meteoric rise in 'rent-a-hen' businesses.
18 June 2014
2 minute read
By: Dubbed in the media as the 'back yard chicken boom', the desire for home produced eggs has seen city egg production rocket in the past 10 years.
The Washington Post has reported on a Maryland based couple in charge of RentaCoop, a business that leases hens and coops to budding poultry keepers.
Tyler Phillips and Diana Samata built their first coop two and a half years ago and now have 70 coops and chick incubators out on loan.
But it is more than just about eggs, according to Mr Phillips.
"What they don't realise in the beginning is that hens have a lot of personality," he told the Washington Post. "When it's time to go back to the farm, the families are saying goodbye to a pet of a friend."
