February 15, 2025 • 14 mins
Jenn, co-founder of Rent The Chicken joins Tiffany for an EGGellent interview. Rent the Chicken was founded by Phil and Jenn Tompkins of Freeport Pennsylvania in 2013. Their objective is to help people have just one food source closer to their table.
Rent The Chicken provides two to four egg laying hens, a coop, food dish, water dish, and food for a five-six month rental. At any time, the customer can adopt the chickens or chicken out and return the chickens back to the homestead.
Rent The Chicken provides two to four egg laying hens, a coop, food dish, water dish, and food for a five-six month rental. At any time, the customer can adopt the chickens or chicken out and return the chickens back to the homestead.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let's get into our next incredible guest or should I
say egg silent guest? I would say eggxcellent. That'd be
a lot better. This conversation talks about something a little
different than what you might be accustomed to. You might
have heard of farm to table, Kayla, have you heard
(00:20):
of farm to table?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Sure?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Sure? Yeah, Well this particular concept is yard to table.
How cute, and it is started by This concept was
started by Jin and Phil Tompkins out there in Freeport,
Pennsylvania when they found it Rent the Chicken in two
thousand and thirteen. Rent the Chicken. Their objective was to
(00:47):
help people have just one food source closer to their table. Yes,
not the market, not the grocery store, but a food
source closer to your own table. And they call that
concept in yard to Table. Each location of Rent the
Chicken is a family run affiliate helping families bring that
(01:08):
one simple food source closer to their own tables at home,
one chicken rental at a time. And about the rental
just a little bit. Rent the Chicken provides different increments
of actual chickens. You might be able to get two
hens or four egg laying hens. You'll also get all
(01:30):
of the materials required to be able to house those
hens and produce eggs, including a coop, a food dish,
a water dish, and food for a five to six
month rental. They also provide literature so that you can
read up on what you're doing and not just get
out there all willy nilly and do these chickens some harm. No,
(01:51):
they want you to take care of these chickens and
to do right by them so that they can produce
for you and your family. Rent the Chicken is a
very special organization, and in the wake of what's going
on with the egg scarcity, with the Avian flu, with
these price hikes, especially hitting us hard in California, as
we've all been feeling, Rent the Chicken is aiming to
(02:15):
combat that and provide you with your very own egg
laying hens. And I'm very very happy to welcome Homestead
Gin of Rent the Chicken, one of the founders with
her husband there. Homestead Gin is joining us here on
the show.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Hi there, Gin, Good afternoon. I don't know what time
it is, good evening, It's okay. I am so blessed.
That was beautiful. Oh. I've never been introduced so accurately
and with such passion as you just introduced me, and
I am honored, so thank you for having me today.
(02:54):
I really appreciate it, and you nailed it. I don't
know what else we have to talk about.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Most welcome Jin. And can I call you Gin or
would you like me to call you homestead Gin?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
You pick either one.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I'll call you gin for the sake of time. Homesteat
Gin is kind of long. I do love it. Though
I do love it, we would absolutely fit that in
at some point, okay, right, But just so you know,
the reason that I introduced you with that passion and
with such detail is because that's what your organization is.
Rooted in passion, in a detailed execution of what you do.
(03:28):
You're not just out here giving chickens away for fun. No,
there's a true objective to it, and it's so that
people can have a more holistic experience in their own homes.
They don't have to go to the market. They can
experience what it is to raise a live animal, a
hen or an egg producing hen, and to then benefit
(03:48):
from the labor of that hen to have fresh eggs
on their kitchen table. And I think that that anyone
who enters into that sort of relationship with rent the
chicken has to be should be passionate about what they're doing.
So thank you for all that you are providing.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Oh, you're welcome. I am egg excited to be on
your show. I'm thrilled to chat about rented chicken and
all things chicken and yard to table. We could. We
have a lot to chat about, for sure, we do.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
And I have a question right out the gate, okay,
And I've been thinking about it long and hard since
I was told that you would be coming onto the show.
I've gone back and forth over how to ask this question,
but I feel like it is one of the most
pressing questions on the list. And that question is homestead
jin What came first? The chicken or the homestead.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
The chicken or the homestead, or chicken or the egg. Yeah,
I don't even know. The chicken, the homestead, the egg,
it all came first. For in regards to rent the chicken,
we say that with rented chicken, hen came first, okay,
and then the egg. Because we deliver the rental package
with the hen and the coop with we have a
(05:09):
hatching program as well, so we provide a five week
hatching program with an incubator and fertile egg so people
can enjoy the experience of hatching baby chicks live in
their home. We provide this to school's daycares, preschool, senior
care facilities, and even libraries participate. It's incredible. And then
(05:29):
they keep the chicks for two weeks. Just when they're
not so cute, we pick them up and take them back.
So in the case of hatch the chicken, the egg
comes first, and in regards to the homestead, the homestead
came first, and then the chickens came. Homestead Phil before
he was homestead Phil and I met when we both
(05:49):
lived outside of Baltimore, Maryland, and then not a place
where you would normally have perhaps a homestead right in
Maryland kind of in an urban. It was very urban.
We did not have a homestead, although homestead Phil took
over my very nice, newly planned out flower beds and
planted carrots because he was determined to plant something that
(06:11):
we could grow and eat. Yeah, So then we decided
to move to rural western Pennsylvania, one county over from
where I grew up, and he warned me, he said,
I want to do some homesteading. I want to get
some chickens, and I want to have a big garden,
(06:31):
and I would like to raise some meat rabbits. And
I was like, you've lost your mind. You can pick two.
That's what I told him. So since then, we've had
chickens that lay eggs, we have chickens for meat, we
raised turkeys, we've had meat rabbits. The garden gets bigger
every single year. He truly is homestead phil Jen.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
What is a meat rabbit?
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Oh? So it's not associated with rented chicken? Okay, but
they are large, large rabbits that are bread and raised
to be processed to put meat on your table.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Got it?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Got it? I thought he was insane, But golly, I
make the best buffalo dip. And I did not say chicken.
I'll leave leave the imagination to you, guys.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
We are talking to homestead Gin. Homestead Gin is a
part of an organization that she started with her husband
Phil in twenty thirteen called rent the Chicken. And they
are bringing chickens to your home, not in a way
that you might be accustomed to. No, you are going
to raise these chickens or chicks. And Gin was explaining
(07:43):
that to us in the last segment and when these
chickens mature, when you have these egg laying hens, you
will then be able to produce your own eggs and
hopefully be able to kind of subvert or get around
the egg crisis that is looming all around the country.
As is rent the Chicken, they are located all around
(08:04):
the country. And Jen, I have some questions for you
before we wrap up. When you think about creating your
own chicken enclosure, because you provide rent the Chicken provides
all the materials necessary for people to be able to
house these hens in their homes or in their yards.
What are some of the barriers that may prevent people
(08:27):
from being able to participate in Rent the Chicken. Do
you have any examples of someone who may have said, Hey,
I want a chicken, and then you get out there
to their home and you're like, no, that's not going
to work.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Well, we do our best to ask the question of
talk to us about your yard space when they make
a reservation or when they're making their reservation, so that
we can not be as alerted upon arrival that oh,
my goodness, this is not going to work. Some barriers
could be some our potential renters really need to have
(08:59):
some bit of green space or dirt space. We have
had people call and they say, I live in an apartment.
Can the chicken coop go on my balcony? That is
not a great choice. The chickens won't be as happy
in that space and they do. You know, your viewers
(09:19):
might not. No chickens poop, so that has to go somewhere,
you know, and on the balcony is not the best
place for it. We just want the chickens to be happy.
We want our renters to have a great experience. We
need a way to get the coop to the backyard,
and if necessary, most of our coops can be delivered
(09:45):
partially assembled, so we can get into a smaller space
that way, and it works out fine. Like we do
ask some questions in advance about the yard space to
make sure that we believe we can navigate that coop
into the backyard. That's most of our concern is making
sure the coop can get to the backyard.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Got it? And I saw on your website that you
allow these chickens to be rented for five to six months.
How soon can someone expect, under really good circumstances and
conditions for their hens to produce eggs.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So we have these amazing hens. Sometimes they lay in
transit on the way to the renters out. Oh wow.
Usually within a couple of days. Sometimes sometimes their little
systems get a little out of whackus. So what's going
on in life once they make the transport, But it
might take a few days to get back into this
way of things. But really they are usually ready to
(10:40):
lay at delivery.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Okay, and you are across the country, but we're speaking
to a lot of people who are right here in
southern California. Where can they How can they participate in
Rent the Chicken? If they live in Southern California? Where
are you best contacted? Can they come out and visit
your home instead? What can Southern Californians look forward to
(11:03):
when they involve themselves with Rent the Chicken?
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Great question. They can go to rentichicken dot com, click
on the pricing location or the drop down for California,
Los Angeles. That's where we are. We don't really offer
farm tours currently because of biosecurity and all the things
happening with avian flu. We just want to keep our
risks as minimal as possible. But if someone's interested they
(11:29):
can give us a call, make an online inquiry, or
if they're all in and they see that they're within
the delivery range, they can make a reservation right there
on the website and then we'll be in touch about
their yard space. Make sure that it's a good fit
and plan on making our deliveries in April or May
in the Greater LA area.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Wonderful April or May. And again, can you give your
website out one more time?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yes, Rent the chicken dot com. There's no hyphens. The
is our middle and we don't use a or hyphens.
Rent the Chicken dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Got it. Rent the Chicken dot com drop down California
to be able to inquire online or get a phone
number so that you can get your process started to
get these egg laying hens to your yard space, and
your yard will in fact be vetted first. They do
their vetting to make sure that these are optimal situations
(12:26):
or circumstances for these hens. No balcony, sorry, people who
live in apartments, sorry about that. You got to keep
going to the market or you can find a local
farmer that way, But you can't have hens on your
balcony if you have dogs. Maybe another situation you're gonna
have to inquire about. You want to make sure that
your circumstances are optimal for these egg laying hens from
(12:50):
Rent the Chicken Rent the Chicken dot com drop down, California.
We've been speaking to Homestead Jin of Rent the Chicken.
She's one half of the duo, the Merry Duo of
Homestead Jin and Homestead Phil Jin. Thank you so very
much for spending some time with us. You have been
absolutely excellent.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Oh, you've been fantastic too. Thanks for the opportunity, Tiffany
and Kayla, you.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Are so welcome. Everyone. Make sure you hang out seven
to nine tonight so you can check out Michael Monks's special.
He's doing a two hour news special on the fires,
airing tonight from seven pm to nine pm. It's called
La Fires A Path Forward. They're looking at the devastating
effects of the wildfires through the voices of people most affected,
(13:38):
the people who covered it, and the ones taking charge
to rebuild in the aftermath right here on KFI and
tomorrow during the replay from two pm to four pm.
It's been a blast. You've all been excellent. Make sure
you re listen to our podcast once it's up under
featured segments, so you can hear the Great Interview with
Ernie Singleton, you can hear the Great Interview with Homestead
(14:01):
Gin and everything in between. And I'll see you right
back here next Saturday from five to seven kf I
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
Let's get into our next incredible guest or should I
say egg silent guest? I would say eggxcellent. That'd be
a lot better. This conversation talks about something a little
different than what you might be accustomed to. You might
have heard of farm to table, Kayla, have you heard
(00:20):
of farm to table?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Sure?
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Sure? Yeah, Well this particular concept is yard to table.
How cute, and it is started by This concept was
started by Jin and Phil Tompkins out there in Freeport,
Pennsylvania when they found it Rent the Chicken in two
thousand and thirteen. Rent the Chicken. Their objective was to
(00:47):
help people have just one food source closer to their table. Yes,
not the market, not the grocery store, but a food
source closer to your own table. And they call that
concept in yard to Table. Each location of Rent the
Chicken is a family run affiliate helping families bring that
(01:08):
one simple food source closer to their own tables at home,
one chicken rental at a time. And about the rental
just a little bit. Rent the Chicken provides different increments
of actual chickens. You might be able to get two
hens or four egg laying hens. You'll also get all
(01:30):
of the materials required to be able to house those
hens and produce eggs, including a coop, a food dish,
a water dish, and food for a five to six
month rental. They also provide literature so that you can
read up on what you're doing and not just get
out there all willy nilly and do these chickens some harm. No,
(01:51):
they want you to take care of these chickens and
to do right by them so that they can produce
for you and your family. Rent the Chicken is a
very special organization, and in the wake of what's going
on with the egg scarcity, with the Avian flu, with
these price hikes, especially hitting us hard in California, as
we've all been feeling, Rent the Chicken is aiming to
(02:15):
combat that and provide you with your very own egg
laying hens. And I'm very very happy to welcome Homestead
Gin of Rent the Chicken, one of the founders with
her husband there. Homestead Gin is joining us here on
the show.
Speaker 2 (02:31):
Hi there, Gin, Good afternoon. I don't know what time
it is, good evening, It's okay. I am so blessed.
That was beautiful. Oh. I've never been introduced so accurately
and with such passion as you just introduced me, and
I am honored, so thank you for having me today.
(02:54):
I really appreciate it, and you nailed it. I don't
know what else we have to talk about.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
Most welcome Jin. And can I call you Gin or
would you like me to call you homestead Gin?
Speaker 2 (03:05):
You pick either one.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
I'll call you gin for the sake of time. Homesteat
Gin is kind of long. I do love it. Though
I do love it, we would absolutely fit that in
at some point, okay, right, But just so you know,
the reason that I introduced you with that passion and
with such detail is because that's what your organization is.
Rooted in passion, in a detailed execution of what you do.
(03:28):
You're not just out here giving chickens away for fun. No,
there's a true objective to it, and it's so that
people can have a more holistic experience in their own homes.
They don't have to go to the market. They can
experience what it is to raise a live animal, a
hen or an egg producing hen, and to then benefit
(03:48):
from the labor of that hen to have fresh eggs
on their kitchen table. And I think that that anyone
who enters into that sort of relationship with rent the
chicken has to be should be passionate about what they're doing.
So thank you for all that you are providing.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Oh, you're welcome. I am egg excited to be on
your show. I'm thrilled to chat about rented chicken and
all things chicken and yard to table. We could. We
have a lot to chat about, for sure, we do.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
And I have a question right out the gate, okay,
And I've been thinking about it long and hard since
I was told that you would be coming onto the show.
I've gone back and forth over how to ask this question,
but I feel like it is one of the most
pressing questions on the list. And that question is homestead
jin What came first? The chicken or the homestead.
Speaker 2 (04:46):
The chicken or the homestead, or chicken or the egg. Yeah,
I don't even know. The chicken, the homestead, the egg,
it all came first. For in regards to rent the chicken,
we say that with rented chicken, hen came first, okay,
and then the egg. Because we deliver the rental package
with the hen and the coop with we have a
(05:09):
hatching program as well, so we provide a five week
hatching program with an incubator and fertile egg so people
can enjoy the experience of hatching baby chicks live in
their home. We provide this to school's daycares, preschool, senior
care facilities, and even libraries participate. It's incredible. And then
(05:29):
they keep the chicks for two weeks. Just when they're
not so cute, we pick them up and take them back.
So in the case of hatch the chicken, the egg
comes first, and in regards to the homestead, the homestead
came first, and then the chickens came. Homestead Phil before
he was homestead Phil and I met when we both
(05:49):
lived outside of Baltimore, Maryland, and then not a place
where you would normally have perhaps a homestead right in
Maryland kind of in an urban. It was very urban.
We did not have a homestead, although homestead Phil took
over my very nice, newly planned out flower beds and
planted carrots because he was determined to plant something that
(06:11):
we could grow and eat. Yeah, So then we decided
to move to rural western Pennsylvania, one county over from
where I grew up, and he warned me, he said,
I want to do some homesteading. I want to get
some chickens, and I want to have a big garden,
(06:31):
and I would like to raise some meat rabbits. And
I was like, you've lost your mind. You can pick two.
That's what I told him. So since then, we've had
chickens that lay eggs, we have chickens for meat, we
raised turkeys, we've had meat rabbits. The garden gets bigger
every single year. He truly is homestead phil Jen.
Speaker 1 (06:51):
What is a meat rabbit?
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Oh? So it's not associated with rented chicken? Okay, but
they are large, large rabbits that are bread and raised
to be processed to put meat on your table.
Speaker 1 (07:08):
Got it?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Got it? I thought he was insane, But golly, I
make the best buffalo dip. And I did not say chicken.
I'll leave leave the imagination to you, guys.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
We are talking to homestead Gin. Homestead Gin is a
part of an organization that she started with her husband
Phil in twenty thirteen called rent the Chicken. And they
are bringing chickens to your home, not in a way
that you might be accustomed to. No, you are going
to raise these chickens or chicks. And Gin was explaining
(07:43):
that to us in the last segment and when these
chickens mature, when you have these egg laying hens, you
will then be able to produce your own eggs and
hopefully be able to kind of subvert or get around
the egg crisis that is looming all around the country.
As is rent the Chicken, they are located all around
(08:04):
the country. And Jen, I have some questions for you
before we wrap up. When you think about creating your
own chicken enclosure, because you provide rent the Chicken provides
all the materials necessary for people to be able to
house these hens in their homes or in their yards.
What are some of the barriers that may prevent people
(08:27):
from being able to participate in Rent the Chicken. Do
you have any examples of someone who may have said, Hey,
I want a chicken, and then you get out there
to their home and you're like, no, that's not going
to work.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Well, we do our best to ask the question of
talk to us about your yard space when they make
a reservation or when they're making their reservation, so that
we can not be as alerted upon arrival that oh,
my goodness, this is not going to work. Some barriers
could be some our potential renters really need to have
(08:59):
some bit of green space or dirt space. We have
had people call and they say, I live in an apartment.
Can the chicken coop go on my balcony? That is
not a great choice. The chickens won't be as happy
in that space and they do. You know, your viewers
(09:19):
might not. No chickens poop, so that has to go somewhere,
you know, and on the balcony is not the best
place for it. We just want the chickens to be happy.
We want our renters to have a great experience. We
need a way to get the coop to the backyard,
and if necessary, most of our coops can be delivered
(09:45):
partially assembled, so we can get into a smaller space
that way, and it works out fine. Like we do
ask some questions in advance about the yard space to
make sure that we believe we can navigate that coop
into the backyard. That's most of our concern is making
sure the coop can get to the backyard.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Got it? And I saw on your website that you
allow these chickens to be rented for five to six months.
How soon can someone expect, under really good circumstances and
conditions for their hens to produce eggs.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
So we have these amazing hens. Sometimes they lay in
transit on the way to the renters out. Oh wow.
Usually within a couple of days. Sometimes sometimes their little
systems get a little out of whackus. So what's going
on in life once they make the transport, But it
might take a few days to get back into this
way of things. But really they are usually ready to
(10:40):
lay at delivery.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
Okay, and you are across the country, but we're speaking
to a lot of people who are right here in
southern California. Where can they How can they participate in
Rent the Chicken? If they live in Southern California? Where
are you best contacted? Can they come out and visit
your home instead? What can Southern Californians look forward to
(11:03):
when they involve themselves with Rent the Chicken?
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Great question. They can go to rentichicken dot com, click
on the pricing location or the drop down for California,
Los Angeles. That's where we are. We don't really offer
farm tours currently because of biosecurity and all the things
happening with avian flu. We just want to keep our
risks as minimal as possible. But if someone's interested they
(11:29):
can give us a call, make an online inquiry, or
if they're all in and they see that they're within
the delivery range, they can make a reservation right there
on the website and then we'll be in touch about
their yard space. Make sure that it's a good fit
and plan on making our deliveries in April or May
in the Greater LA area.
Speaker 1 (11:49):
Wonderful April or May. And again, can you give your
website out one more time?
Speaker 2 (11:55):
Yes, Rent the chicken dot com. There's no hyphens. The
is our middle and we don't use a or hyphens.
Rent the Chicken dot com.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Got it. Rent the Chicken dot com drop down California
to be able to inquire online or get a phone
number so that you can get your process started to
get these egg laying hens to your yard space, and
your yard will in fact be vetted first. They do
their vetting to make sure that these are optimal situations
(12:26):
or circumstances for these hens. No balcony, sorry, people who
live in apartments, sorry about that. You got to keep
going to the market or you can find a local
farmer that way, But you can't have hens on your
balcony if you have dogs. Maybe another situation you're gonna
have to inquire about. You want to make sure that
your circumstances are optimal for these egg laying hens from
(12:50):
Rent the Chicken Rent the Chicken dot com drop down, California.
We've been speaking to Homestead Jin of Rent the Chicken.
She's one half of the duo, the Merry Duo of
Homestead Jin and Homestead Phil Jin. Thank you so very
much for spending some time with us. You have been
absolutely excellent.
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Oh, you've been fantastic too. Thanks for the opportunity, Tiffany
and Kayla, you.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
Are so welcome. Everyone. Make sure you hang out seven
to nine tonight so you can check out Michael Monks's special.
He's doing a two hour news special on the fires,
airing tonight from seven pm to nine pm. It's called
La Fires A Path Forward. They're looking at the devastating
effects of the wildfires through the voices of people most affected,
(13:38):
the people who covered it, and the ones taking charge
to rebuild in the aftermath right here on KFI and
tomorrow during the replay from two pm to four pm.
It's been a blast. You've all been excellent. Make sure
you re listen to our podcast once it's up under
featured segments, so you can hear the Great Interview with
Ernie Singleton, you can hear the Great Interview with Homestead
(14:01):
Gin and everything in between. And I'll see you right
back here next Saturday from five to seven kf I
AM six forty Live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app
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