Pros and Cons re chickens in urban settings

The Hamilton public health staff report Keeping of Chickens in Urban Areas [PDF] is a good resource.

It lists the potential benefits:

• educational opportunities (i.e. teaching children about where food, such as eggs comes from, and providing animal care experience);
• greater control over egg source in order to know where the egg originated;
• increased food security, although limited, when financially feasible to keep chickens;
• the belief that global environmental sustainability begins with local initiatives such as backyard chickens;
• a lessening to some extent of carbon emissions typically associated with transporting food such as eggs;
• companionship for family members as chickens may be treated as a pet;
• the belief that eggs will be fresher, taste better and will be pesticide free;
• expected better conditions for hens in comparison to industrial farms; and,
• possible reduction of municipal solid waste through consumption of table scraps and other organic waste by hens.

It also lists the risks/challenges, which it notes “could be mitigated by following good practices … through a regulatory tool such as an urban chick by-law or through amendments to the City’s Responsible Animal Ownership By-Law 12-031.”

• problems with the number, age, and sex of chickens (how many to keep, abandonment of old chickens, and whether to include chicks or roosters);
• food safety issues (egg safety, unlawful sale or distribution, potential for disease transmission);
• chicken slaughter (illegal slaughter or lack of local chicken slaughterhouse locations);
• chicken (hen) care and treatment (potential for disease transmission from sick hens);
• chicken coop and design versus free range (risk of pests and predators and disease transmission); and,
• chicken waste (i.e. methods of disposal, odours and how to not affect groundwater).

To mitigate these risks, public health recommends the following:

• no sale or distribution of eggs to others outside of the household in order to comply with relevant Provincial/Federal legislation and to reduce the potential for food borne illnesses and other disease transmission;
• limit the number of chickens to three to four per single family dwelling;
• prohibit the keeping of roosters or any other poultry except chickens (hens);
• prohibit chicks under four months of age;
• the chicken coop shall be located to reduce noise and odour complaints and the risk of disease transmission. Distances are recommended to be at least 3 metres from any side lot line and at least 6 metres from any rear lot line or dwelling;
• hen coops shall be maintained in a clean condition and coop shall be kept free from obnoxious odours, substances and vermin;
• chicken coops and runs shall be located only in the rear and side yards and must fully enclose the chickens to prevent them from escaping;
• prohibit owners from allowing chickens to be at large (outside the coop, chicken run, or off the property);
• chickens’ food supply must be protected against vermin;
• manure disposal should occur through municipal waste disposal unless a suitable method of composting is available;
• no home slaughter of hens; only at licensed slaughterhouses;
• any naturally deceased hen shall be disposed of at a livestock disposal facility or through the services of a veterinarian within 24 hrs of death; and,
• a permit/registry be required for all coops for the purpose of quick tracking should the need arise to contact owners.

After researching other municipalities that allow hens – Guelph, Kingston, Niagara Falls, Quinte-West, Kamloops, Richmond and Surrey – public health summarized the rules those other municipalities follow: “all have by-laws which include requirements as to number of chickens allowed, location and size of coop, lot sizes and distance restrictions, etc.”

They also learned that those municipalities “receive few complaints; less than five per year each,” because most people don’t keep chickens, and those who do “abide by the regulations in order to be good neighbours and avoid complaints.”