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Councillors approve urban chickens

More urban chickens could be scratching around Black Diamond backyards after council voted last week to allow residents to raise the birds. Black Diamond town council unanimously agreed on Oct.
Berri-Lynn Levert, with daughter Hudson, participated in Black Diamond’ s backyard hen pilot project during the last year. Black Diamond Town council recently approved
Berri-Lynn Levert, with daughter Hudson, participated in Black Diamond’ s backyard hen pilot project during the last year. Black Diamond Town council recently approved allowing residents to keep chickens, under specific guidelines.

More urban chickens could be scratching around Black Diamond backyards after council voted last week to allow residents to raise the birds.

Black Diamond town council unanimously agreed on Oct. 7 to allow residents to own chickens following the success of its backyard hen pilot project over the last year.

Residents need to wait to get hens until changes to the Town’s animal control bylaw are completed, which is expected to take place in December. However, anyone who participated in the hen pilot project can keep their birds.

“We’ve done a lot of work around our hen program in Black Diamond and it worked out very successfully for our community,” said Black Diamond Mayor Sharlene Brown.

The pilot program began in August 2014 as a collaborative project between Black Diamond and Turner Valley. It allowed participants to own up to four hens under specific rules and guidelines for 12 months.

Three households registered to participate, but only two built hen houses, purchased hens and cared for them over the last several months.

Town administration conducted frequent inspections and a report presented to council last week shows the hen owners complied with the requirements, the coops were maintained and hens well cared for.

Only one complaint was received early on during the pilot project that a coop at one home was less than the one meter requirement away from the property line. The report stated the problem was rectified within a month.

“We had virtually no concerns going forward from administration,” said Brown. “It’s been a really good initiative between the two communities.”

Surveys sent to about a dozen neighbouring residents, of which only two replied, showed there were no issues with odours, predators, cleanliness or noise. Only one person responded the Town should not allow the hens.

Brown said with positive results from the surveys and inspections she feels confident backyard hens will be successful in Black Diamond.

“Personally, I’ve had the opportunity to chicken sit,” she said. “I’ve been able to feed the chickens and water the chickens and collect the eggs from the chickens. I’ve seen it in action.”

Brown said allowing residents to own urban hens has educational value.

“This is one step of taking a look at where do we grow our food, how do we grow our food,” she said. “Children learn about where their food comes from, how to look after and care for the chickens and the husbandry that goes into that. The educational piece for families is great.”

Among the recommendations administration presented to council last week was implementing a $25 participation fee, down from the pilot project cost of $50, requiring an initial inspection and subsequent inspections to take place on a complaint basis only, that the coops be one metre from side property lines and 1.5 from rear property lines and increasing the number of hens allowed from four to six.

Council also approved a $150 fine for breaking the rules, keeping more than the permitted number of hens, owning a rooster, having an unsanitary coop, keeping hens when not permitted and for slaughtering hens within the town limits.

Berri-Lynn Levert, who joined the pilot program last summer, said she likes the Town’s recommendations, particularly the fees, and hopes when council passes the bylaw it maintains the six hens maximum.

“I only have three, but I think three or four is just not enough,” she said, adding she has a family of five. “We were still buying eggs all year round. Some are laying sometimes, some aren’t.”

Levert said she is not surprised at the success of the pilot project.

“I didn’t think there would be any problems or complaints from the beginning,” she said. “Everything went very smoothly.”

Owning three chickens was an easy run for Levert, with her teenage son feeding them and collecting eggs each morning before school.

Levert said everyone she has spoken with about the project supported it.

“They think it’s a great idea to be able to have that in the community,” she said. “At least five people that I’ve heard want to get hens.”

Among them is Don Mondragon, who moved to Black Diamond from Calgary just after the cut-off date to participate in the pilot project. He learned about the project while looking up the pet bylaw on the Town website.

“Something popped up on the website about a pilot project for chickens,” he said. “It was like, ‘Oh my God, can we do this?’”

Although Mondragon was born and raised in Calgary, his parents grew up in the Philippines and told stories of how they had chickens of their own.

“Having chickens was a main source of food – the eggs and the chickens themselves,” he said. “It’s about having that part of background from my parents and now being able to share that with my kids. I always had the fascination about owning chickens just hearing the stories from back home.”

Mondragon and his wife attended last week’s council meeting to see what council would decide.

“I’m so happy with their decision,” Mondragon said. “I’m upset it’s going to take another two months to put it in the bylaw. We’ve been waiting a while.”

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