The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Escalating egg prices spur more residents to rent hens
A North Branford farmer said the surge in egg prices at the supermarket is resulting in increased demand for consumers renting hens, a service he has provided since 2019.
Joe DeFrancesco said he hasn’t seen the level of interest in renting his hens since the start of the pandemic. DeFrancesco, who also raises hens to provide fresh eggs for his seasonal farm market in Wallingford, said last year was the first time he saw a decline in the hen rental business.
“Now, people are eager to rent our hens because of the price of eggs,” DeFrancesco said. One of the five rental options has already sold out, he said.
The wholesale price on the
New York market for large shell eggs in a carton delivered to retailers was in the $3.05 to $3.09 per dozen price range, according to the latest report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The retail price consumers pay is likely much higher.
During 2022, the average national price for a dozen Grade A eggs went from $1.98 at the beginning of the year to $4.25 at the end of December.
In addition to renting chickens to consumers living across Connecticut, DeFrancesco said his business has customers in parts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New York.
The rental period is from April and May to October or November. With the entry level $485 pricing option having already sold out, consumers interested in renting hens can choose options priced from $585 to $1,385 for the season.
The $585 option includes the rental of two hens while the three remaining options that are still available come with either three or four hens. In addition to the birds, the rental fees include coops as well as everything needed for their care and feeding, according to DeFrancesco.
“We provide an enclosure, feed, shavings,” he said. The renters “don’t need to buy anything.”
The interest is the rental of egg laying hens as a way to combat the inflated price of eggs has gained traction nationwide. DeFrancesco’s business is the Connecticut affiliate of a Pennsylvania-based business, Rent The Chicken, that has locations in two dozen states.
While more people are renting hens in Connecticut, it hasn’t been enough to make a noticeable difference in egg sales at supermarkets across the state, according to the president of a trade group representing grocery stores across the state.
“They are actually trading up to free range, pasture raised, cage free eggs now that their other options are no longer less expensive,” Wayne Pesce, president of the Connecticut Food Association, said of the state’s consumers. “They are buying the best value on the shelf based on availability. Even at $5 per dozen, eggs are still the best economic value for protein in the world.”