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For the past two weeks, our guest bedroom has been home to four darling chickens- two boys and two girls. Our oldest son who is now 4 affectionately named them Captain America, Iron Man, Super Woman, and Black Widow after his favorite Marvel Avengers super heroes. For 3 weeks, we watched 7 eggs rotate quietly in an incubator at just the right humidity. For 21 days, we waited patiently and then finally, on day 21, we woke up and found Captain America chirping inside the incubator. The next morning, another two pecked their way out of their egg shells. And after another sleepless night, another egg hatched.
We were privileged and grateful to have been afforded the opportunity to hatch these chicks as part of Rent the Chicken’s Hatch the Chicken rental. Rent the Chicken which is now nationwide offers renters the opportunity to see what it is like to have backyard chickens. They provide the chickens and the coop for a season and after the season ends you can choose to adopt them or give them back. Now they are offering Hatch the Chicken rentals where they provide all of the following: eggs, incubator, cage, food for chicks, flashlight for candling, and even a children’s book on the chicken egg hatching process.
I think what I love the most about Rent the Chicken is Homestead Phil and Jenn, a married couple living in Pennsylvania. They started this business in 2014 and let me tell you- they LOVE what they do and are happy to share their passion with other people. Before we brought our eggs home, I invited Phil to meet some of our Science Tots families at the Chartiers Township Community Center. Not only did he bring a hen and a week old chick for the children to meet, but he read them the book that is included with all egg hatching rentals and answered all of their questions. Their favorite fact about chickens? Why that they’re the closest relative to the extinct Tyrannosaurus Rex! Did you know that?
My son learned so much over the past few weeks! And not just about chickens. He also learned a great deal about patience and responsibility. To help him grasp the concept of how long it would take the chicks to hatch, we sat down and created a calendar together. We received the eggs on a Wednesday so we counted 21 days on the calendar and wrote the word HATCH on the 21st day. We also knew we would have to check the water level inside the incubator every 2 days so we put a little check mark on the calendar every 2 days to remind us. Every morning my son had the task of going in and “checking in” on them and putting a sticker on the calendar to let me know he had done so. Some days he forgot but as the days to HATCH neared, he started to pay close attention.
One of the most memorable experiences we shared was the day Captain America hatched. My son ran into our bedroom at 6 am to let me know. He yelled, “Mommy! This is so amazing! One hatched!” One of our favorite things to do over the past week was to let the chickens out for a stroll while we refilled their food and water containers or cleaned up the cage. My son had fun trying to teach them to fly and cluck like a chicken while I did most of the cleaning up but I was proud of him for remembering to check on them every morning.
Not only was this a fun experience but it was an educational one. It was also surprisingly low maintenance! If you have the opportunity to try the Hatch the Chicken rental, your children or grandchildren will love the experience. Homestead Phil and Jenn were very helpful and are happy to answer any of your questions so don’t hesitate to try it!
