Here is a potential niche market idea: chicken sitting!
When chicken owners go out of town, they have to find someone to care for their birds. In steps… the chicken sitter!
This would be a good side gig for someone who likes chickens and has some time to drive around town to take care of other people’s birds while the owners are out of town. If you have ample property and can maintain quarantine of diverse groups of birds, you may be able to do it from home.
Read up on disease prevention in flocks before trying this. Different flocks coexist with different micro-organisms, so it’s important to keep their germs to themselves.
Home to Roost 
Posted by Lisa on August 29, 2011 at 2:30 pm
My daughter and I are very interested in starting a business such as this after not having anyone comfortable with taking care of our flock in the western burbs for a week. Anyone know of anyone else interested?
Posted by Carrie on September 8, 2011 at 9:38 am
I live in Chicago metro along the lakefront, & I recently started offering chicken sitting on a local basis. Currently, I have one regular client who could provide a reference. I travel by bicycle, so a trip to the western suburbs is difficult, but possible. Please contact me at culturperc at me dot com. Best Regards, Carrie
Posted by Kristan Green on September 16, 2011 at 8:44 am
I have done dog boarding from my home for over 5 years and have owned chickens for just as long. I have lost chickens to predators while out of town. I would love to “chicken-sit” for others if anyone in the ‘burbs needs a hand. -Kristan Green anasaula@hotmail.com
Posted by Diann Nails on September 16, 2011 at 9:15 pm
Hi, I live in the Chicago city limits and have a car for local traveling. I am a responsible, professional adult who is available for chicken sitting. Contact me if you need this service. – Diann Nails, dinails@msn.com
Posted by bronwyn on September 27, 2011 at 8:07 am
Jen –
Writing from Baltimore, Maryland. New suburban chicken farmer with a flock of four that are just about 5 months (still not laying mind you – but that is a different story). Interested in setting up a chicken sitting shingle. What would a typical visit to a home entail – feed, water, free range time out of coop? And how long would one be expected to stay per visit.
Cheers,
Bronwyn
bronwyn99@hotmail.com
Posted by chickenwoman on September 27, 2011 at 9:15 am
Bronwyn –
This sounds like a great blog post. Stay tuned!
Jen
Posted by chickenwoman on January 3, 2012 at 1:52 pm
Bronwyn –
Check out my new post: The Urban Chicken Consultant Recommends Chicken Sitting/.
I just reviewed draft proposal for the Baltimore Office of Sustainability regarding keeping chickens and other small critters.
Cheers,
Jen