Two Yorkton residents appeared before Yorkton Council Monday requesting the City look at creating a bylaw which would allow residents to keep a few chickens.
The idea might at first thought seem somewhat radical, but as Tricia Reed and Shanon Hilton quickly showed it's actually an idea which has been accepted and implemented in a number of other communities in Canada (see related story this issue).
Hilton told Council allowing chickens within an urban setting is not a new idea. She said cities such as Victoria, Vancouver and Surrey in British Columbia, and Brampton, Niagara Falls and Guelph in Ontario currently allow chickens within their city limits.
The reasons that Reed and Hilton cited for wanting to have chickens seem to have a logical sense to them.
"There's nothing like going out in the morning collecting perfect eggs for breakfast," said Reed, adding there is also value in "sharing that experience with my children."
Reed also noted she was "passionate about living with the resources we have been given," she said, adding having chickens creates a connection to one's food source, and fits with a growing effort to consume food produced as locally as possible.
Certainly much has been made recently about the idea of consuming food produced as close to home as possible.
As an example the Assiniboine Food Security Alliance was founded in the city earlier this year. The new group is focusing its efforts on helping people be secure in their food supply, and that means combating hunger, and ensuring people know how to access safe food.
The group held an event in February to help local people access seeds to facilitate growing their own food.
Having hens in the backyard producing eggs would be a natural progression of people securing their own food.
The City has already shown interest in promoting in-city gardens for food, hosting meetings regarding composting as a fertilizer source, and talking about gardening at the Yorkton Spring Expo.
Chickens would seem a natural progression of such efforts.
Of course there are issues, noise and smell being paramount among them.
"Hens are no more noisy than dogs, probably less so," said Hilton.
Certainly if people can put up with barking dogs, a few clucking hens should not be a great concern, especially as hens rarely move around at night.
We already accept that large dogs can be taken for walks and deal with the reality they often leave large lumps of feces on sidewalks and in parks which non-responsible owners leave behind. Hens are not about to be leashed and taken for walks.
The two women are wise enough to understand a strong bylaw needs to be designed to meet concerns and still allow chickens to be raised in the city, and offered some detailed suggestions including owners needing to register with the city, limiting the number of hens to six, and detailing proper housing requirements.
Reed said they are hoping Council can show "a little bit of courage," and have Yorkton become a leader in the province in allowing backyard chickens.
Yorkton Council has often prided itself in being a leader in areas such as bike paths, establishing a Municipal Cultural Plan and numerous other initiatives, so there is no reason not to be the first urban municipality to go down this path either.
