Renting with Back Yard Chickens

Being military means we move around a lot with little choice about the area we are moving to. Many military families choose to live on the military posts for the perks, such as possible cheaper cost of living, added security, proximity to work, short commute, community, and more. One of the down sides though is the very limited kinds of pets one can have in their family the limit of 2. There are also many things not possible while renting on a military post like big gardens. For these reasons we choose to look off post for a rental.

The rental we found is almost an hour away from post, this is not an short commute. It is also not a new home and have many issues like the dangerous and gross dilapidated in-ground pool the land lord has not decided what to do with yet. The AC and Heat issues, unstable floors, mouse issue we inherited, electrical issues, and more. However we can have chickens here! There is a lot of land and we can have gardens too. It all evens out in the end.

We could have lived in a new home on post that lacked all the issues we have here, but we would not have had the freedom to have a flock, and the chicken therapy that comes with them and the garden to help us learn to live more sustainable. Who knows, if the owner wants to sell at some point maybe we could buy it and make the house more sustainable too. It has character!

I am asked all the time how one finds a place to rent and have chickens. I think from talking to others who do the same that the key is looking for a place that isn’t perfect, it gives the owners more reasons to want you to be happy, they get their rent and that makes them happy, and you get chicken therapy that makes you happy. Not to mention all the fertalizer for the yard from the chickens and how many bugs the chickens eat.

This is Jayne, our favorite hen. She is a speckled sussex chicken and gives us large brown eggs. She is very sweet and always on the look out for me. I can’t explain what a wonderful feeling it is to have her close. When I go into the yard and see most of the chickens run my way I can’t help but smile. She seems to enjoy the kids carrying her around too!