Blooming Health Farms launches chicken rental program for folks who want to test backyard chickens without the commitment

Blooming Health Farms is a nonprofit that aims to help at-risk youth develop job skills training while learning about sustainable agriculture. It recently launched a Rent the Chicken partnership. Photo by Kelly Ragan.

By Kelly Ragan

Sean Short got hooked on chickens the way more than a few folks do – happening upon baby chicks for sale. 

His business partner, Ryan Smith, a professional counselor, asked him what he planned to do with chickens at an aquaponics farm that specializes in growing tomatoes and sprouts. Short’s answer eventually led to a business opportunity. 

Short resisted the chicks at first, but his discipline waned as he made trips back and forth from Home Depot, Tractor Supply and Murdoch’s to build out Blooming Health Farms, a nonprofit that aims to help at-risk youth develop job skills training while learning about sustainable agriculture. Even if you could argue that the nonprofit led him to the chicks, it also provided an answer for caring for them. Smith laid out the idea that they should teach the kids how to raise chickens and sell eggs. Short took it one step further. 

Blooming Health Farms partnered with a company called Rent the Chicken, a national franchise. The idea is to let people test out what it’s like to take care of chickens before they fully commit to buying them and caring for them. Just in case, you know, others were having a hard time resisting chirping fluff balls at hardware stores. 

Folks can keep their rentals for about 5-6 months depending on the region, according to Rent the Chicken. If you decide chickens are your calling, you can adopt them and keep the coop for an additional fee. 

Sean Short, of Greeley, is one of the founders of Blooming Health Farms, a nonprofit that aims to help at-risk youth develop job skills training while learning about sustainable agriculture. Photo by Kelly Ragan.

The standard rental package through Blooming Health Farms runs for $485. The fee includes the delivery, set up and pickup, two egg-laying hens, one standard chicken coop, one food dish, one water dish, and a couple guides on caring for chickens. 

The franchise provides the chickens and the materials while Short houses them and delivers them to folks in the northern Colorado area who sign up for the program. 

As part of the northern Colorado program, Short delivers chickens in May and June and people can rent for about six months. 

“We’re taking rental reservations for next season,” Short said. “They book up fast.” 

It’s a good time to get into the chicken business. 

People flocked (pun intended) to the idea of raising backyard chickens after the pandemic rocked the supply chain and egg prices surged due to a devastating avian flu outbreak. According to a report by the New York Times, hatcheries around the country reported high demand early this year. 

People flocked (pun intended) to the idea of raising backyard chickens after the pandemic rocked the supply chain and egg prices surged due to a devastating avian flu outbreak. According to a report by the New York Times, hatcheries around the country reported high demand early this year. Photo by Kelly Ragan.

While Short hopes chicken rentals – and a planned hatchery program aimed at schools and libraries – will be a boon to Blooming Health Farms, the chickens have already been a positive experience for the at-risk youth he works with. 

This past winter, Short and some of the youth took to the Greeley Farmers’ Market to sell some eggs. Short went around to say hi to a couple other vendors while one of the kids stayed at the booth with the eggs.  

Fifteen minutes later, Short returned and all the eggs were gone. People snapped them up. 

“People love eggs,” Short said. 

That gave them time to have good conversations with folks in the community. Short listened as the same kid made a pitch for more chicks. 

“He was like, ‘Hey Sean, we need more chickens. If we had just two more chickens, we could get six eggs a day. By the next market, we could have enough eggs,’” Short said. “It was so worth it.” 

Now, Blooming Health Farms has about 150 chickens, including 45 egg layers and 100 young hens, called pullets, that will be laying eggs by August. 

“I anticipate that to be more than double by next spring,” Short said. “The more we sell, the more youth I get to help.”

Short didn’t always think of himself as someone capable of helping at-risk youth find their way. He used to be one of the delinquents, he said.  

Blooming Health Farms is a nonprofit that aims to help at-risk youth develop job skills training while learning about sustainable agriculture. It recently launched a Rent the Chicken partnership. Photo by Kelly Ragan.

The Greeley native earned a degree in molecular biology from the University of Hawaii in 2013, there’s a gap in between when he graduated and when he got his life together, he said. After three DUIs and jail time, he had trouble finding a stable job in the field he loved. 

He eventually got sober after he found himself at his lowest, he said. While in a jail cell, he tried to take his own life because he thought he’d spend the rest of his life in prison. 

“The failed attempt transformed me, and I promised myself I would do whatever it took to be a better man,” he said. 

In the midst of getting sober, he lost both of his brothers to addiction, he said. That strengthened his resolve not only to stay sober, but to be an advocate for others. 

Sober since April 2017, Short is passionate about helping local youth avoid going down that same path.

“I used to be one of those kids,” he said. “I know what kind of impact something like Blooming Health Farms can have.” 

To learn more 

To learn more about Blooming Health Farms, go to https://bloominghealthfarms.com/, check out its Facebook page, or email info@bloominghealthfarms.com.  

To support Blooming Health Farms, check out the ‘Cakes and Eggs event. Come for the free scrambled eggs, short stack and sausage breakfast, stay for the chick petting zoo, chicken raffle races, games and more. 

When: 9 a.m. to noon Aug. 13

Where: Glenmere Park pavilion, 1600 Glenmere Boulevard