Egg costs are high, so a NH farm will rent out chickens: ‘they're really easy'

Egg prices continue to hit records highs and families are scrambling to find more affordable options. Some are turning to local farms as an alternative.

At Templeton Family Organics Farm in Goffstown, New Hampshire, a carton of eggs is poached as quickly as it's laid.

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"We've been here ten years," said Christine Templeton, co-owner of the farm. "We started off with just 30 chickens, and now we're up to about 600. We have eggs every day. I wash what we get. We put them together and they're usually gone by the end of the day. Sometimes we don't even have any for ourselves. We have people that are driving up from south of Boston and buying eggs because they know that they're organic."

The rising cost of eggs is bringing in new and old customers to the decade old farm.

"We've definitely gotten a lot of feedback regarding the prices and the scarcity in supermarkets," Templeton said. "People used to come and buy one or two dozen and now they're coming in buying eight or 10 dozen at a time. We have a good amount of stock and it can be wiped out pretty quickly, which is very different from what we're used to."

Now, the Templetons are getting ready to serve not only their own customers but families who want to get eggs right in their backyards.

"The thing about chickens is they're really easy. There's just very, very low labor," said Brian Templeton, a farm hand.

Starting in April, families can pay a one-time fee to rent a portable chicken coop for six-months through their Rent-The-Chicken program. The idea? People don't have to be a full-time farmer to enjoy farm-fresh eggs.

"A lot of the families are contemplating maybe getting chickens on their own, buying their own coop. So, they do this as a way to see if it's a good fit," said Brian. "When you rent two birds, you basically get a dozen eggs a week. And when you rent four birds, you get two dozen eggs a week. They pretty much take care of themselves as long as they have food and water."

With the average price of eggs hovering around $5 per dozen, if a family buys a carton every week for six months, it would cost around the same for a basic rental set up. The farm also participates in a Hatch-the-Chicken program.

"I try to get people to think about the philosophy of it as opposed to the money side of it. Because when the money when the price of eggs goes back down, they'll just go back to the supermarket," Brian said. "I like to convince them that it's important to buy from local farmers."

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But for families that are not quite ready for backyard birds, the Templetons still have plenty of eggs for sale.

"Come spring, we'll be overflowing with eggs again," said Christine.

Just don't wait too long -- around here, they go over easy.

"Anything that's going to get people thinking about local agriculture makes me happy," said Brian.

As for bird flu concerns, the Templetons assure customers that, since all their chickens are indoors for the winter season, they are protected against the disease, and come the busy spring and summer season, they'll take precautions. All their chickens are also inspected by the state.