The Transformative Power of Chickens: How One Family’s Flock Changed Everything

For Rynell and her family, what started as a simple homeschooling project during the pandemic became something far greater. Their flock brought joy, healing, and a newfound connection to nature, food, and community. From helping her recently adopted son adjust to his new home to inspiring a full homesteading lifestyle, chickens transformed the way her family lives. More than just fresh eggs, they became a source of peace, purpose, and belonging. This is the story of how a simple flock of chickens reshaped everything.

Would you like to be in a film about keeping chickens?

In January 2024, Omlet’s creative team put out a casting call to customers. The project was an ambitious film for a campaign that would go deep into the heart of what keeping chickens means. Authenticity was really important to us, and when Rynell, a mother of three and passionate chicken keeper from San Diego, answered we instantly knew she had to be in it.

“We decided to get chickens as part of homeschooling,” she explains but almost immediately, the chickens took on a greater role. “It was life transforming. They bring so much joy, not only to my life, but to my kids’ lives too. It’s been life-changing for our family.”

What began as a simple project to teach her children about responsibility quickly became something much greater. The chickens reshaped the rhythm of Rynell’s family life. Inspired by her journey, we wanted to learn more.

A Journey into Chicken Keeping: More Than Just a Homeschooling Project

In the early days of the pandemic Rynell and her family sought to create a hands-on, farm-like learning experience for their children. But she quickly realised that the chickens were going to be much more than just a source of eggs, especially for their son, Elijah, who had recently joined their family through foster care. Rynell explains:

“The chickens arrived around the time that Elijah came into our home. He has a background of some trauma and teaching him how to care for and be gentle with animals, and just enjoy their companionship was really important – it actually worked tremendously as a therapy for him, as a foster child coming into a new home. He was supposed to be receiving all this extra therapy, but because of Covid a lot of it wasn’t happening, so we turned to the chickens instead, which was wonderful.”

The simple, daily rituals of feeding, observing, and nurturing the flock became a way for Elijah to find stability—a quiet, unspoken language between a child and his chickens.

From Chickens to Homesteading: A New Way of Living

What started as a handful of chickens soon evolved into a passion for self-sufficiency. “One thing led to another,” Rynell says. “From getting the chickens, I then started cooking with all the fresh eggs, then I began the kitchen garden, then I started writing a blog about it all. The homesteading life really is contagious and I love being able to provide for my family through it!”

Now, her family’s meals are a reflection of this lifestyle—homegrown, homemade, and deeply connected to the land. “The eggs have completely changed my cooking. We grow our own potatoes too and with some bacon, the fresh eggs, you just can’t go wrong, the eggs are just the best. My kids love hard-boiled eggs; it’s one of their favourite snacks. Then, I have this tree right here with our own apples growing. One of my favourite recipes is for apple pancakes. That’s one of our family favourites from the garden.”

Chickens have brought the family closer to their neighbours too, deepening their sense of community. “People find out we have chickens, and then their kids want to come over and see them—even the adults,” Rynell laughs. “Some of our friends have now got chickens, too. It’s so fun connecting with the community through all of it.”

And in this small, yet powerful way, chickens remind us of something essential: they gather together. They create circles. They turn neighbours into friends.

Chicken Therapy: The Unexpected Power of a Flock

Beyond fresh eggs, beyond composted manure and recycling kitchen left overs, chickens provide something even greater—peace.

“Chicken therapy. That’s my term for it,” Rynell says. “At the end of a hard day, just sitting outside, listening to their noises, watching their interactions—it’s an anxiety reducer.”

There is something grounding about their presence. The way they peck at the earth without hurry. The way they follow the setting sun to roost, reminding us that rest is necessary. The way each chicken, carries a distinct personality.

One of Rynell’s favourites, Peanut, was the smallest chick but is now the leader of the flock. Another, a Cream Legbar, prefers to perch on her shoulder while she gardens—“She’s like a parrot,” she jokes. And then there’s the one who insists on sneaking into the house to lay her eggs indoors, leaving the family to stumble across them like little treasures.

It is in these small, ordinary moments that we realize: chickens do more than provide. They transform.

Rynell’s recommendation: The perfect family flock set up

Like many chicken keepers, what started out as a flock of 6 has expanded into a total of 14 chickens, a phenomenon known as Chicken Maths. As Rynell explains, “You know, there’s no point counting them, because I’m always going to get another. We have some beautiful Marans and Olive Eggers and some Ameraucanas and Cream Legbars.”

The family has two coops, an Eglu Pro and a wooden coop. For Rynell the Eglu Pro, which is fitted with an automatic door, has been a revelation allowing her to keep chickens without it adding to her already incredibly busy life. She says “ In general, it’s a much more user-friendly coop than our old big wooden one. And I find that every year we get trouble with mites in the wood – in the Omlet, we haven’t seen any at all. Now I’ve got to live with an Omlet coop, I don’t see it as expensive for what it is. All that scrubbing you no longer have to do. Getting rid of the mite problem. Being able to move it easily. I now look at it and think it’s pretty reasonable!

And the children help out too, naturally going out and collecting the eggs is the chore that the kids fight over, because it’s the most fun but everyone helps out cleaning too.

A Message to Those Considering Chickens: Take the Jump

For families thinking about keeping chickens, Rynell has one message:

“Take the jump. It’s worth every second. It has brought so much joy to our lives, affected our happiness, and even improved our health. It’s been life-changing.”

Because chickens are more than eggs. They build connections, ground us and are a reminder of what’s important. They fix us, in ways we never expected.

This entry was posted in Chickens

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