A couple in Nova Scotia's Pictou County is hoping to crack the local egg market in a rather interesting way.

Lisa and James Dixon’s new business venture is called Rent The Chicken.

“When I first heard about people renting chickens, I laughed,” says Lisa. “I thought it was absolutely the funniest thing that I had ever heard of, but then the more I started thinking about it, the more I was like, ‘you know what, that's actually a great idea.’”

The idea began with a couple in Pennsylvania back in 2013 and chicken farmers across North America have been working with them ever since.

People can rent two or four hens for a summer, chicken coops included, and they can expect eight to 14 eggs a week from the pair, 16 to 28 eggs from a foursome.

“This is our two hen coop…It comes with two hens that are laying eggs, it comes with the food dishes, it comes with a book of chicken care and it comes with all the food that they'll need for the six month rental,” says Lisa. “This is a larger coop; it holds four hens so it comes with twice the amount of feed.”

The Dixons began raising chickens after their daughter's got involved with 4-H. James says it's proven to have real educational value.

“I think it's for teaching your kids where eggs and stuff come from,” says James. “They get to look after the chickens. They go out and collect the eggs, which is fun for any little person, or grown up.”

The coops will be ready for delivery in May and they'll be picked up at the end of the season in October.

This is the family's first crack at renting chickens, but there are already a few interested people ready to give it a try.

“People are more concerned with finding out where their food is coming from. Local food is very big, you don't get much more local than your backyard,” says Lisa.

The Dixons say they hope to rent out as many as 50 hens this summer, but that's only an estimate. They don't want to count their chickens, before they're hatched.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh