Having spent the best part of the weekend out in the garden, (aside form the few hours spent fly fishing on the mighty Columbia River), the case for Urban Chickens in the Kootenays came through loud and clear. The hours spent weeding and preparing garden beds for vegetables could have been minimized with a few well placed fences and allowing a couple of chickens the run of the place for a couple of days.
This letter to Calgary City regarding chickens came to my attention over the weekend
I would like to propose that the city make a minor change in its bylaw that prevents people from having a few hens in their yard. It may involve treating hens as “pets” rather than “livestock”. With three hens in an urban backyard, a family could provide themselves with healthy, organic, grain fed, free run eggs to sustain themselves, throughout the year. These hens could eat some of their waste, provide some fertilizer for the vegetable garden, and provide an education for children about their food and animals, while making little to no noise, or detriment to the urban landscape.This is not a unique concept. There are many cities in the United States including New York, Portland, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, Seattle, as well as Victoria BC that allow chickens.
Source: MAMMACOMIC: urban chickens calgary – aldermen
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It will be interesting to see what the reaction from Calgarians and their elected officials is to this idea.
Would you want chickens? Would you mind if your neighbours had chickens?
If you enjoyed this post, why not try these ones:
- Castlegar to Hold Public Meeting About Urban Chickens
- Goats and Chickens on the Agenda in Castlegar
- Backyard Chickens
- The Case for Urban Chickens and Goats
- Chickens and Goats
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
As long as there are NO As long as there are NO roosters!!! There were tons around our house in Tanzania that “cock-a-doodle-doo-ed” 24-7!
Dano! I agree NO ROOSTERS in Dano! I agree NO ROOSTERS in urban areas – way too noisy for most people!
i would love to hear a i would love to hear a rooster in the city. can you imagine how long it has been? 50 years?
regardless, the issue is healthy food produced locally. this is an excellent initiative that will explode onto the locavore landscape. watch for some great muni fireworx!
I say it is about time to I say it is about time to reverse the trend of industrialized agriculture in Canada and put the stewardship and care of growing food back in the hands of the common people. The recent Maple Leaf lsteria outbreak should be a case in point. There is no reasonable case why chickens should not be allowed, provided the bylaws require proper care to minimize odours and I’m thinking no roosters is probably a good idea, although I personally wouldn’t mind. Dogs currently make more mess, stink and noise in our neighbourhood anyway.