Egg prices have Rutherford Co. chicken rental business booming

LASCASSAS, Tenn. (WSMV) - With egg prices hovering around $4.00 a dozen, one Rutherford County business is providing an alternative to store-bought eggs.

The Middle Tennessee affiliate for Pennsylvania-based company, Rent The Chicken, has seen business boom with more people looking to raise their own eggs. Rent The Chicken provides customers with up to four hens, a portable coop, and food for a six month rental. Two egg-laying hens can provide 8-14 eggs a week.

“These chickens, you know where they’re at, you know what they’ve eaten, you know what’s happening with them,” Rent The Chicken’s Tennessee-affiliate owner, RayLee Holladay, said. “You’re loving and taking care of them and in exchange they’re going to give you eggs everyday.”

A nationwide outbreak of a bird flu caused egg prices to climb in 2022, according to the USDA. Data shows wholesale egg prices have dropped to the Midwest to $3.29 a dozen.

“We have enough chickens to save for ourselves, so we haven’t actually had to go buy the eggs but all the neighbors have been having to purchase the eggs so [store prices] has been quite the talk in our little neighborhood,” Holladay said.

Holladay will deliver the coop, hens, and supplies for free to areas of Middle Tennessee within 50 miles of Lascassas.

The standard rental package is $485 for six months’ worth of eggs, but Rent The Chicken offers a multitude of packages.

Click for information about Rent The Chicken.

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