Hen Pals
Rent-a-hen service creates more chicken lovers
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Hen Pals pairs chickens with potential owners such as school programs, pensioners, or people looking for companion animals.
Story and photos by Susie Kearley
ABBY JOHNSON (ORIGINALLY FROM MARYLAND) STARTED a rent-a-hen service called “Hen Pals” in 2019 when she was living in England, just before the country went into lockdown. She’s still there, still trading, and it’s been an interesting four years!
“I brought the idea over from the U.S.,” explains Abby. “It’s a popular
concept which started in Australia about 30 years ago. I’ve been living and
studying in the U.K. in recent years, and I’m currently based in Brighton. My last degree was a master’s research degree in Animal Welfare. I wanted to know what’s driving customers to source more ethically produced meat and eggs.
The results of my research showed that mad cow disease and other historical diseases led to greater media scrutiny of farm animal husbandry. And people’s exposure to animals had a big impact. Spending time with animals drives people to think about where they’re sourcing their eggs and meat.”
Coming up with a plan
“I got the idea for Hen Pals after reading a few articles about businesses
hiring hens to people who wanted to try keeping poultry. I thought it was cool. They’d interviewed people who said the experience had made them fall for chickens and reconsider how they’re sourcing their eggs.
“I looked to see if there was a service like this in the U.K. and could only find one that was hiring hens to schools. No one was hiring hens for individuals. I put out feelers to see if there was any demand, and the concept was met with great enthusiasm. So, when the London School of Economics ran a start-up competition, I thought, why not submit my idea? I won the competition, and they gave me funds to start the business. They sponsored my visa, too. That was just before the pandemic.”
Abby found a suitable location for her hens on a farm in Kent. The only downside is that it’s 50 miles away from her home in Brighton.
“The farm manager is into regenerative agriculture,” she explains. “He supports micro-businesses, gives me barn space, and keeps the hens there for free. Fortunately, I’ve got folks living near the farm who enjoy helping with the daily hen care.
“We move the hens every four weeks. They till and fertilize the land, eat the slugs and take out other pests, so he doesn’t need to use pesticides on his plants because the hens deal with the pests. The eggs are sold in the farm shop.”
“During the lockdowns, demand for hens was high, but I was finding it difficult to source chickens. I don’t breed them because of the distance between my home and the farm. I rely on breeders to supply me with chickens.”
Growing up with hens
Abby grew up in rural Marylands on her family’s dairy farm with pigs and chickens. “I was very close to my pet chickens,” she says. “I liked the idea of doing something with chickens when I was older. I wanted to raise awareness of their welfare and the joy they can bring to our lives.
“I’m a flexitarian. I eat a little meat on occasion and don’t eat poultry. I only eat eggs when they’re produced by hens that have a happy, slaughter-free life, like backyard hens.
“When I started the business, I connected with an influencer on Instagram, and she did a little write-up before I launched. I created a website and asked people to register their interest. My publicity was all through social media, and I used Facebook ads.”
There’s been a high demand for Abby’s chickens. Customers can hire hens for 4 or 12 weeks. Abby delivers two hens and their equipment directly to people’s homes for the agreed period. At the end of the trial period, the hens and their equipment can be purchased if the customer would like to keep them permanently. Otherwise, the hens will return to their free-range life on the farm in Kent.
“I’ve had interest from families and schools,” Abby continues. “People like to connect with animals. Most of my customers are fal.i 8′[];bchildren. It gives the children the experience of housing pets, caring for animals, collecting eggs, and understanding where their food comes from. I had one couple who had chickens as their first pets. Their children had flown the nest. The lady was nervous, but she fell in love with her hens and adopted them permanently. She said the hens changed their lives.
“About a third of the people who hire hens keep them, but some people decide hen keeping is not for them. One couple hadn’t anticipated that her hens would be scratching around their flowers and making a mess. They did eventually get hens to stay in their orchard, but putting them in their manicured garden beside the house didn’t work for them.
“I had a few cases where people hoped their dogs would get along with the chickens, but it was difficult. Some dogs bond with the chickens quickly, but others don’t.”
Hen Pals highlights and challenges
Running the business has been made more complicated in recent years by avian flu outbreaks. This means captive birds have to be kept inside their coops by law. They can’t run free until restrictions are lifted.
“The biggest challenges have been my proximity to the farm and avian flu,” says Abby. “I paused the business while the restrictions were in place because I didn’t want the hens to be stuck in a 2-meter run all day. I gave one school a much bigger 5-by-2-meter run, and the children went inside to interact with the birds.
“The highlights have been hearing from customers about the joy and purpose the birds bring to their lives. Some who only had the hens for the summer say it’s transformed their view of chickens. I’ve sent hens to schools in London where children have never seen a hen. Some say, ‘I’ll never eat chicken again.’
“I had a very special pet chicken, Lila, who helped further inspire Hen Pals. She lived for 10 years and only recently passed away. I got her when I moved back to the U.S. after living in London for three years. I was feeling low, and Mum suggested I get chickens to make me happier. I bought Lila and five other chicks. Over the years, my parents fell for her because she was a great character. My father became ill with cancer, and she was always there to cheer him up. She’d fall asleep on his lap. She was like his comfort blanket.
Once my father passed, she was my mum’s house chicken. She’d come into the house every day to visit but lived outside with her two companions.
She provided a special type of comfort to my father and my mum.
We miss her.”
SUSIE KEARLEY is a freelance writer and journalist who lives in Great Britain along with two young guinea pigs and an aging husband. Susie
has been published in Your Chickens, Cage & Aviary Birds, Small Furry Pets, and Kitchen Garden magazines.
Connect with Susie on: facebook.com/susie.kearley.writer
Originally published in the Feb/Mar 2024 issue of Backyard Poultry magazine, and regularly vetted for accuracy.