However, he mentioned, if you happen to really need them, ensure that to be careful for any indicators of sickness, like lethargy or decreased urge for food. When you see any, keep away. “If they’re sick, it is advisable to not contact them in anyway,” Dr. Hopkins mentioned. “And if you happen to actually should, it is advisable to use protecting tools.” (He mentioned it was secure to the touch chickens so long as they weren’t sick, however he did suggest taking precautions: “Even in case you are refilling an out of doors chicken feeder, go exterior and feed them after which come inside and wash your fingers with cleaning soap and water. Don’t contact your eyes and mouth.”)
And whereas egg costs have acquired a number of press protection, these leases won’t assist get monetary savings. Costs range by location, however in Lengthy Island, for instance, it prices $1,195 to hire 4 chickens for 3 months from Lease the Hen. If the chickens produce as much as 28 dozen eggs in complete, every dozen must value about $42 to interrupt even financially.
Rental corporations say their shoppers are after the understanding of getting recent eggs, not low cost costs. And they don’t wish to wait till summer time.
“When individuals make their reservations now, they’re like, ‘How quickly can we get the chickens?’” Ms. Tompkins of Lease the Hen mentioned. “There may be extra of an urgency.”
“I began getting calls round January,” mentioned Mr. DeFrancesco of Farmer Joe’s Gardens, whose calls usually begin within the spring. “I feel what we’re seeing is individuals eager to have some safety with their meals sources. They wish to know the place their meals is coming from and have some management over it.”
Michelle Woeber, 56, an environmental scientist who lives exterior Pittsburgh, is getting into her fifth season with Lease the Hen and might’t watch for her chickens to be delivered within the subsequent month. (She tries to get the identical hens — Mabel, Helga, Sapphire and Ethel — yearly. “You get to know their personalities,” she mentioned.)
