ALDEN, N.Y. — Its chow time at the Erie County Correctional Facility in Alden, but not for inmates Rob Kwitowski or Joseph Stupak.

"Honestly the expectation was to raise some little chicks in a little cage and that was it,"  said Kwitowski, an inmate at ECCF.

Kwitowski says he is always up for a challenge, but this is something of a different sort.

"Tender loving care and I definitely grew a little attached to some of them," he said.

Kwitowski is one of four inmates playing mama bird since May. That's when the DEC dropped off 1,700 pheasants for them to raise. The birds will be released starting October and through November.

"(We) make sure the drinkers and the feeders are full and we police the perimeter so that there's no holes they can get out of," Kwitowski said.

However, there still are a few successful escapes.

"We get our exercise in twice a day," Stupak laughed. 

They also get a daily dose of comradery and of reality.

"It changes it, like how I was out there and now it’s going to be different," Stupak said. 

The type of lesson facility leaders were hoping they'd learn.

"That they take away something when they hit the streets,” said corrections officer Michael Narde. “A little integrity, a little responsibility and perhaps there is more to life than perhaps what got you here to begin with."

Narde heads the pheasant farm and he's even surprised how much the program has made an impact on his life.

"I will miss this aspect when I retire in May with absolute certainty,” Narde said. 

And the program began just three years ago.

"We have a flower program, a wreath program and an urban garden program," said first deputy superintendent Paul Evans said.

Evans says it just made sense to add some additional occupants to the grounds.

"I'm pretty proud of the fact that my staff was able to start and build from nothing,” Evans explained. “Now we have a house, a flight pen and quite a few birds."

Plus it’s a way to give selected inmates a chance to start over.

"We see a change in their attitude, we have less problems with them," Evans said.

A flock of unlikely teachers and a reminder there's always tomorrow to spread your wings.