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The phone rang at 7:30 a.m. "Mrs Cronkright? This is the Post Office. We've got a very noisy package here and were wondering if you could come and collect it now." The babies had arrived!
Irene Cronkright lives in a charming cape by the water in South Norwalk. Her small backyard is a marvel of organization. Raised beds full of new lettuce and garlic line the fence. Blueberry bushes are squeezed into a sunny spot next to the strawberry patch. More raised beds are ready for the tomatoes and peppers. But what catches your eye the minute you walk through the gate is a splendid new hen house, complete with sleeping loft and gently sloping ramp.
Irene decided to try her hand at raising hens so that her grandsons, Max and Miles, could learn about small-scale animal husbandry. "Chickens are relatively easy to raise, " she explained. "They're friendly, the boys can pick them up and play with them and they'll get to understand where some of their food comes from."
Ordering chicks on line is a snap. Petchickens.com offers a variety of breeds, as well as supplies and coops for your new flock. Most city flocks are all hens, as roosters tend to get on the neighbors nerves!
Irene has quickly become a fountain of knowledge on her new charges. Every hen will lay about 2,000 eggs in her life, which can be as long as seven years. They lay an egg every couple of days and as soon as the egg is laid, the next one in the production line gets ready. And they'll be packing in extra Omega 3 by pecking at the grass! Looks like Flower, Oreo, Sunny and Gloria have found themselves a happy home!
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