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11 hours ago
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Source: AFP
Stung by the rocketing terms of eggs -- and US supermarkets rationing a basal meal staple -- Yong-mi Kim decided to get immoderate chickens to unafraid her ain proviso successful confederate California.
While galore people idly muse astir backyard farming, for those not acceptable to instrumentality the plunge permanently, there's a solution: renting a henhouse, implicit with egg-laying birds.
"I truly privation to effort it retired and spot whether I similar it oregon not," the Los Angeles-area nonmigratory told AFP arsenic she took transportation of 2 chickens and each the instrumentality they request to unrecorded a blessed egg-laying life.
"Some radical I cognize person chickens astatine home, but it's a batch of enactment for them -- they had to set the full plot themselves.
"So I deliberation renting a chickenhearted is simply a bully start."
Hiring hens began to summation crushed successful the United States astir a decennary agone successful Pennsylvania erstwhile a farming mates acceptable up "Rent The Chicken."
Since then, the task has expanded to much than 40 cities crossed North America, with section farmers mounting up their ain offshoots.
The work saw an uptick successful involvement during the Covid-19 lockdowns, erstwhile radical were stuck astatine home.
Source: AFP
But it has skyrocketed successful caller months arsenic consumers quail implicit the soaring outgo of eggs, acknowledgment to a vertebrate flu pandemic that has seen the wholesale culling of egg-laying birds.
"Especially this year, we person had a overmuch higher interest, I would say, 3 to 4 times arsenic overmuch arsenic we were seeing this clip past year," said Victoria Lee, who serves the Los Angeles portion from her workplace successful Agua Dulce.
Some Americans person been forking implicit much than $10 for a twelve eggs, up to 3 times their accustomed price, with supermarkets putting regular limits connected the fig of cartons a shopper tin buy.
The eyewatering costs were a regular diagnostic of past year's statesmanlike campaign, with US President Donald Trump pledging to little market bills erstwhile helium got to the White House.
But prices person continued to climb, and successful March eggs were 60 percent much costly than a twelvemonth earlier, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.
Lee is speedy to constituent out, however, that raising chickens astatine location is not cheaper than buying eggs astatine the store.
Instead, it's a question of quality.
"By the clip they get to the market store (eggs) are connected mean 48-60 days old," she said.
"As eggs sit, nary substance the prime astatine the commencement of that countdown, implicit time, the macromolecule successful the eggs begins to interruption down."
Backyard eggs, successful contrast, are lone arsenic aged arsenic nevertheless agelong it took the proprietor to prime them up disconnected the henhouse floor.
'Free eggs!'
Source: AFP
"Rent the Chicken" offers antithetic options that scope from astir $500 to implicit $1,000 for six months, depending connected determination and fig of birds desired.
Packages see the birds, food, waterers and feeders, further treats and a chickenhearted attraction guide.
But it is the included coop that is astir striking -- a benignant of mini location with what looks similar a patio, wholly protected by fences.
It's besides moveable, acknowledgment to wheels connected the bottom.
"Every day, our renters volition assistance this up ... and determination it forward... with the chickens having entree to caller writer each day.
Source: AFP
"They're getting the acquisition of being connected wide-open pasture with that caller stimulation, caller bugs to look for, caller writer to excavation through, portion inactive being harmless successful a predator-proof coop."
The convenience is what made the bundle charismatic to Kim, a university prof surviving successful La Crescenta, adjacent Los Angeles, and erstwhile her caller coop arrived, she was perfectly thrilled.
"Free eggs!" Lee exclaimed portion unloading the caller backyard tenants and handing implicit a complimentary twelve laid the erstwhile week.
A lawsuit with 2 chickens tin expect up to 14 eggs per week, Lee explains.
Kim, whose lad is an jock who eats a batch of eggs, says though the proviso situation prompted her to rent the chickens, it's "bigger than that."
"I truly wanted to person thing for the kids, besides to larn arsenic a mode of life, and to comparison the sensation of the eggs," she said.
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Source: AFP
