You can rent boyfriends, tools, and cuddles in Toronto, but one Pennsylvania-based start-up knows you like to grab your eggs from many baskets. Rent The Chicken has expanded to Toronto, meaning you can have a temporary golden hen without all the mess of trying to decide whether to eat her or give her the den to your condo when she gets on in years.

No, this isn't another April Fools post, and it isn't a Toronto Humane Society campaign either. Chicken rental is just what it sounds like. The renting... of chickens.

Chicken renting is actually a rather complicated affair, much more complex than renting, say, a human boyfriend: $375 gets you two hens from May to October with all the peckings (from coop to water dish), and the promise of 8-14 eggs per week - most of which will end up on Bums Trading Zone unless you happen to really love your omelets.

Then deluxe chicken rental packages (more chickens) are available, as are options to step into next level urban farming with the "Hatch The Chicken Rental Package" which allows you to experience the joy of baby chicks hatching and stumbling fluffily around your home and your heart - for six months. (Amy E. Sklansky's Where Do Chicks Come From? book is yours to keep.)

Learn more about chicken renting in Toronto here.

Photo by aida_dasilva in the blogTO Flickr pool