SUNDRE – In an effort to lift barriers and help enable anybody who is interested in participating in the municipality’s backyard hen pilot program, a local councillor recently presented some information on raising chickens at the local library.
Coun. Owen Petersen, who has past experience raising chickens and was a proponent of the proposed program even prior to being elected to council, offered tips not only about taking care of the flightless birds but also navigating the pilot bylaw’s stipulations.
More than half a dozen people attended the roughly one-hour presentation that was held on the evening of Wednesday, June 5 at the Sundre Municipal Library.
“I was happy with it. The two or three folks that are keen on getting chickens had lots of really good questions,” Petersen told the Albertan, going onto express optimism that the presentation “gave them some excitement and some encouragement to sift their way through the red tape in order to get themselves chickens.”
Petersen has long maintained that if large urban metropolitan centres like Edmonton and Calgary – or even New York City – can accommodate egg-laying hens, so too should a small community like Sundre that prides itself on self-sufficiency.
With a maximum of only five people set for the pilot, the councillor initially opted out of participating to give other people a chance first.
However, six months into the one-year pilot program, and the uptake – or rather lack thereof – has got him reconsidering.
“I don’t think we’re going to hit the (maximum of) five – because now it’s June,” he said.
“I am not optimistic that we’re going to have the whole pilot project filled. So there’s a good chance that I’ll get some chickens for the summer.”
Recognizing that even the big cities’ bylaws have certain requirements such as special permits or certifications, Petersen is nevertheless concerned that otherwise competent people are shying away as a result of the red tape.
“We require that you take a course or you prove that you are capable of taking care of chickens,” he said.
“I’m all for education – this isn’t something I want a whole bunch of amateurs jumping into,” he quickly added.
“I just also understand that it’s kind of a ridiculous ask in today’s day and age. We live in an information age, we have an incredible active library, we have the internet at our fingertips with mountains of information on how to raise chickens – it’s not rocket science,” he elaborated.
“Somebody who cares about being a good chicken owner, could educate themselves very quickly on this,” he said.
“I just think that (course or official certification) is an unnecessary part and it might deter people; they’re not going to go to the city to take a course on chickens when they can absolutely get all of that information through the internet and through the library and you know, talking with folks around here.”
That all being said, Petersen understands – but doesn’t necessarily agree with – the need for other rules that for example would prohibit people from selling eggs or chicken meat due to health and safety concerns.
And he fully supports the bylaw specifically banning the species’ rather rowdy male counterparts.
“I don’t think roosters have a place in town,” he said.
But the councillor simply isn’t convinced a course or certification should be required to raise animals that humans have domesticated over thousands of years.
Additionally, there are other kinds of animals that require responsible owners without the need for special permits or training.
“You don’t have to take a course to own a quote ‘dangerous’ dog in this town. You just have to pay extra money,” he said.
“You don’t have to get a course to have two cats in this town. You don’t have to take a course to own three boa constrictors, or for parrots that (can) live 100 years in your house.”
Yet Petersen also pointed out a possible workaround.
“The great loophole – and why I think it’s unnecessary in the bylaw – is you could also just quote-unquote ‘prove’ you’re capable, which means telling the bylaw officer that you were raised on a farm or that you know what you’re doing,” he said.
“What I see in that kind of legislation, is a barrier. And it’s going to deter folks that are quite capable of taking care of chickens,” he said.
“I just want to take down those barriers and take away those little bits of red tape.”
After all, people throughout the centuries co-existed alongside chickens – whose scientific name is gallus gallus domesticus – and those who so choose to do so should still be able to, he asserts.
But when communities started to grow and people decided livestock such as cows and horses didn’t belong in urban backyards, “chickens just fell into that blanket policy of agricultural animals,” he said.
“Chickens were the unfortunate collateral damage as we shooed agricultural animals out of urban areas … even though they’re so low impact and so practical and have been living in human houses for thousands of years,” he said.
Among the questions raised during his presentation were what kind of risk avian flu poses, whether the chickens can be overwintered, how long it takes before chicks grow to become egg-laying hens, and whether they can be fed table scraps.
Petersen said that while the risk of avian flu technically exists, the odds of just few chickens in a backyard catching the disease is exceedingly low and that the primary concern largely stems from massive operations with thousands or even tens of thousands of birds in which an outbreak can rip through the population like wildfire.
“We do have two very capable vet clinics in this town,” he added. “So I think we’re well set up to deal with any problems that may arise.”
And while hens can also overwinter, they’ll need to be housed in an insulated coop with a heat source to keep them warm, he said.
Although it can take about 18 weeks for newly hatched chicks to grow into egg-laying hens, Petersen for the time being recommended that anyone thinking about participating in the pilot – which is already halfway through the one-year period – start with ready-to-go hens.
As for table scraps, leftover veggies can certainly supplement a chicken’s diet.
“They’re garburators,” he said, adding that scraps should not, however, outright replace regular feed.
Asked what he hopes those who attended took away from the presentation, Petersen told the Albertan, “I really wanted to let them know – maybe this is my own personal passion – is it’s worth it.”
“The bylaw and the pilot project that council passed is still a little onerous in my opinion. However, council was comfortable with this pilot project, so I’m happy to help facilitate it,” he said, inviting anyone who is so inclined to connect with him by email at [email protected].
“I just wanted to let people know that I’m accessible to help them through this process if they’re finding the red tape and the paperwork a little much,” he said.
But anyone who is feeling confident about plunging into the pilot program can also go to the town office to pick up a ready-to-go package that contains all of the required documentation to steer something through the process, he added.
The pilot program started in the new year and winds up at the end of end December, after which council will revisit the bylaw in January 2025.
Betty Ann Fountain, the town’s senior development officer, previously told the Albertan in response to emailed questions that there had been one applicant in the northeast subdivision participating in the pilot program
“The municipality provided information to the adjacent landowners and there were no concerns received,” said Fountain, adding the applicant and property’s owner “did their due diligence by speaking with their neighbours before even applying for the permit.”
