By Christopher Vondracek
From Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
Minneapolis—Only once did the chickens fly—or fence-hop—into Nancy Engberg’s neighbor’s yard in north Minneapolis.
And no, it wasn’t just to cross the road to get to the other side.
“I watched them go over,” Engberg said, describing a mildly alarming incident early in her tenure tending to an urban coop. “Otherwise, they were pretty happy at home.”
But other tasks awaited Engberg when she purchased her backyard flock of hens more than a decade ago. Even today—after national egg prices soared in December to more than $4 a dozen, prompting more people to consider becoming poulterers—Engberg warns it’s not for the casually interested. It’s not just a matter of throwing up a coop and purchasing chicks from Fleet Farm to source DIY eggs, the experienced flock owner said….