by Nikko Snyder
THE SASQUATCH
Sept/Oct 2009
(Vol I No. 4)

When citizens contacted the City of Regina to inquire about raising chickens on urban properties, the municipal fist came down hard to squelch a problem that didn’t yet exist.

On June 23, 2009, a municipal bylaw went into effect prohibiting Regina citizens from keeping chickens and other small livestock within the city limits. This put the capital in the company of several other Saskatchewan cities (including Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Yorkton and Prince Albert) intent on keeping the “city” in cityfolk.

The City of Regina cited a host of concerns and referred to the bylaws of other prairie cities (including Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg) as inspiration for the chicken ban. Though it may seem like a silly little issue, Regina’s off-the-cuff chicken ban is in fact tied to some important issues. We face many crises — energy, environmental, food, economic — and the food system is linked to them all, challenging citizens to reconsider how food is produced, where it comes from and how we’ll manage to feed our families in the future.

As interest in local food and food justice grows, many cities, including Victoria, Seattle, New York and most recently Vancouver, are embracing chickens as a means for their citizens to take control of their food security and environmental impact. Even our comparably cold-climate U.S. neighbours, Fargo and Minneapolis, allow chickens within their city limits.

So, why is it that some city dwellers manage to coexist with small livestock while Canada’s prairie urbanites cannot?

Arguments against chickens in the city abound: they attract vermin; they’re a public health concern – we’ll surely all get avian flu; they’re noisy; people aren’t responsible enough to care for them; our winters are too cold and insulation can be a fire hazard; locally produced eggs are already easy to get, so why bother?

But not everyone agrees that the challenges outweigh the opportunities. When University of Saskatchewan student Ellen Watkiss heard about Vancouver’s move towards allowing urban hens, she was inspired to speak up in Saskatoon. She started a Facebook group for ’tooners who support legalizing urban hens. Watkiss hopes to eventually make a presentation to City Council. “To say that chickens aren’t allowed but racing pigeons are doesn’t make sense,” she said.

Similar citizen groups are popping up elsewhere. Calgarian Paul Hughes is a long-time food activist and founder of the Calgary Food Policy Council, an ad hoc group with a mandate to raise consciousness about food security issues in the city. As far as Hughes is concerned, commitment to food justice means practicing what you preach, and he dares the authorities to help him raise awareness by taking his chickens away. “If someone wants to chop me down, go for it,” said Hughes. “It’s highly ironic that leadership in Regina is trying to criminalize agriculture and food, which is a democratic right.”

Meanwhile, other would-be chicken owners are plotting their next steps. “I don’t know why the government is taking more action to protect me from chickens than from nuclear power plants,” quipped the Mad Hen, an anonymous Regina renegade who is busily researching breeds and coop designs that are appropriate for Saskatchewan winters.

Despite concerns over our cold climate, people are managing to raise chickens in Saskatchewan. Andre Mailloux has been raising chickens for the past five years in the village of Welwyn, but when another local family inquired about keeping chickens, the municipality enforced a preexisting ban. At first Mailloux was allowed to keep his existing chickens (at least until they stopped being productive), but he later received notice from the town to get rid of all his chickens by August 15. As of this issue’s press date, Mailloux plans to keep only one chicken on his property in case the town would have them destroyed, and is initiating a petition to propose an amendment to the bylaw.

“They just need to come up with bylaws that are proportionate, reasonable and enforceable and that address their concerns,” says Mailloux. With 12 children to feed, keeping chickens has always made sense, but he acknowledges that it has to be done with care. “You need to have good husbandry,” he said. For Mailloux, that means providing enough space for each bird, insulating the walls and ceiling of his coop, burying steel into the ground around the coop to keep the local fox out, running a light bulb to provide enough light to keep the chickens producing eggs through the winter, building roosts high up in the warmest part of the coop and avoiding odour by turning manure into his garden immediately in the spring.

“They work so well,” said Mailloux. “Can you imagine if everyone’s scraps went into chickens, and then back into the garden as compost? It’s unbelievable how much the city would save if all that didn’t have to go to the landfill.”

Cities in Saskatchewan, however, don’t seem to have considered the benefits of chickens. The report submitted to Regina City Council by the Committee for Community & Protective Services claimed that the proposed new Regina Animal Bylaw had no environmental implications. Though another report on city transit (presented to the same committee on the same day) cited the city’s commitment to a reduction of community greenhouse gas emissions, no connection was made between chickens, local food security and climate change.

Chickens won’t solve all our problems, but failing to link them to the bigger challenges we face causes us to miss an opportunity to tackle food security and environmental sustainability in our own backyards.

A Renegade’s Guide to Raising Urban Chickens

Do your research
Know what you’re getting into and be prepared to make the commitment. Make sure you look into what breeds are best for our climate, how much space each bird needs, what they can and can’t eat, how to keep them warm and clean and where you’ll get your supplies.
Get your neighbours’ blessings
It won’t help your cause to get busted by your neighbours. Discuss your plans with them before you start, and be prepared to work together to address any concerns they might have. And don’t forget that fresh eggs make a great bribe. (If you don’t know your neighbours, use this opportunity to meet them and build community!)
Build a proper coop
Insulate it properly, make sure there is enough space for each bird and that it’s easy to clean, and make it sturdy enough to keep other animals out. (Hopefully the Man won’t ban composters next when he finds out there’s rotting food kept in them!)
Choose a hardy breed
Waddles and feet can freeze! Some breeds are better suited to the Saskatchewan climate. See #1.
Don’t burn your (or your neighbour’s) house down
Some officials are concerned that straw in coops could be a fire hazard. So don’t throw a burning cigarette into your coop. Also, best not to tell the fuzz if you use straw mulch on your garden or keep dry firewood handy, lest they ban those activities as well.
Keep it clean
Although avian flu is much more likely to affect large, high stress commercial flocks, it pays to take reasonable precautions to avoid making you or your chickens sick. See #1. Bird flu aside, clean your coop regularly (there’s nothing better for your garden!).
Be prepared to pay the price
If what you’re doing breaks the law, know the consequences and be prepared to deal with them. Having your chickens destroyed because you got busted and didn’t have a contingency home for them is not humane. If you do get caught, make the best of it! Have your press release ready to go and use the opportunity to raise awareness.
Don’t make yourself an easy target
Filling your coop with roosters, not keeping it clean, slaughtering birds in the back alley or attracting rats by not maintaining an appropriate coop will not help the urban agriculture cause, and it will certainly get you busted. Don’t become part of the problem.
Be prepared for all stages of life
Understand how to care for your chickens at all ages, and think through what you’ll do with mature birds once they’ve stopped producing eggs. Make sure you have a vet with expertise in case of sickness. If you hope to eventually eat your own birds, choose a breed that is good for both laying and eating and consider where and how you’ll have them slaughtered.
Treat your chickens with respect
One great benefit of keeping chickens is that it gives urbanites the opportunity to be more humane than most large-scale and factory farms. Be kind to your chickens.
Consider additions or alternatives to breaking the law
Speak to your City Councilor, neighbours, family and colleagues about the issue. And vote, vote, vote (it’s election year)! Or run for office yourself. Poultry-related civil disobedience is only a temporary solution.

Legal disclaimer: The Sasquatch does not condone this or any other illegal activity involving poultry.

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