Push for backyard chickens hatching around the province

Quiet clucks can be heard from the hens in Amy Snider’s backyard as they devour cantaloupe and frozen pumpkin.

“They helped me out a lot,” she said. “They also helped my son. My whole family really benefited from having them around.”

Snider, the founder of Queen City Chickens, helped with research to bring forward a motion encouraging Regina’s city council to change bylaws to allow for backyard chicken keeping. Changing bylaws around urban chickens has been attempted in both Regina and Saskatoon in the past, but never with success.

Queen City Chickens has sent council a proposal for a pilot project that would involve keeping chicken – without roosters – in 20 homes across the city. The pilot project would last two years and only allow between two and six hens in each urban flock.

Snider has four hens that reside with her at her home in Regina. Her hens were prescribed by a doctor as emotional support animals, and she keeps the birds in her yard for three seasons of the year.

She has kept her chickens Scrambled, Omelette, Julia and Martha – or her “girls” as she likes to call them – with the consent of her neighbours and so far without complaints.

Snider said a chicken-keeping bylaw would benefit people living in the community.

“We feel like it’s not going to go away,” said Snider. “The demand for people wanting to keep chickens is going to increase, as it is more common across the country to allow this, and people are excited about all the benefits they can get from keeping chickens, and that news spreads.”

Next Wednesday, Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak is expected to bring forward notice of motion to address the pilot project proposal at city council in January.

Snider said members of her group have worked hard to make sure the project is as easy as possible to implement in cities. They have studied existing chicken-keeping bylaws in six Canadian cities in an effort to create a well-rounded motion.

On top of the proposal, a petition encouraging the city to allow backyard chicken keeping is nearing 700 signatures.

Discussions on chicken keeping have hatched throughout the province this year. Prince Albert councillors said no to backyard chicken keeping on July 13, and Nipawin’s council decided to keep the gates closed on backyard chickens on Aug. 14.

However, many large Canadian cities are moving to change bylaws around backyard chickens. Major cities including Edmonton, Calgary and Brandon allow backyard chicken keeping.

Cracking open the myths

Snider said she understands there may be some concerns about chicken keeping inside the city limits, which is why Queen City Chickens has put together a list of frequently asked questions on its petition.

Noise, messes and smells are all things that were considered in the report set to go to Regina city council.

Dr. Wanda Martin, an adviser with Bridge City Chickens, said most of those common concerns are not major problems with small flocks.

“There’s very little noise. There’s very little smell,” said Martin. “All the things that people are afraid of don’t really exist on a small scale.”

Martin is an associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan College of Nursing, researching urban agriculture. Her research was part of the 2017 effort to get the Saskatoon’s council to change bylaws around chicken keeping.

Snider added that chicken clucks are quieter than lawnmowers, snowblowers or barking dogs – when the chickens make any noise at all.

While there is a small chance of an avian flu outbreak with two to six chickens in urban settings, Martin said it would be better for people to have the birds registered, licensed, and documented before it happens.

While some may keep a flock for food purposes, others may consider simply keeping chickens as pets.

Snider said her hens produced 278 eggs between the start of May and the end of August, saving her money on groceries.

“There is some initial costs, but beyond that I’d say it is more affordable to have chickens for your source of eggs than it is to buy grocery store eggs,” she said.

Martin said she would not solely rely on chickens as a food source, but said the benefits of chicken keeping are numerous.

“Knowing that you can have your own eggs that are produced in your backyard is a comfort to people in times of rising costs,” said Martin.

“If they were going to have a pet anyways, they would be spending money on a dog, and you could spend it on your chicken instead.”