If a group called the Calgary Liberated Urban Chicken Klub has its way, Calgary will become one of a handful of Canadian cities that allow residents to keep chickens in their backyards.
Known as CLUCK, the group, along with the Calgary Food Policy Council, has been lobbying city council to change a city bylaw that forbids raising livestock in most urban areas.
“I’ve met with 11 different council alderpeople,” says Paul Hughes, head of CLUCK. “The game’s on. It’s a political issue now.”
Hughes is proposing that residents be allowed to have up to six hens in their backyards. Noisy roosters would not be included.
Vancouver amended its bylaws to allow residents to keep urban hens in March. It’s also legal in Victoria, and Toronto and Halifax are looking into it.
“Three hundred cities in North America have a chicken by-law including New York,” says Hughes. “I’m looking at Vancouver and what they did in a large urban centre about five times the size of Calgary maybe, and they have no problem with it.”
Hughes has six chickens in his yard, and says he knows of about three dozen other people in Calgary who are already keeping chickens. One of those, an owner of two chickens who asked not to be identified, says the birds are “really a joy to have around.”
“I believe that a few well-cared-for hens can be an asset to any family wishing to promote healthier, organic eating habits, “greener” gardening practises, and a more cruelty-free lifestyle,” she says.
An area the size of a sheet of plywood, says Hughes, is sufficient for two chickens.
“That’s a lot of room for two chickens. It gives them a chance to move around, stay healthy. If you had six chickens I’d say at least two sheets of plywood, but for two chickens, they’d keep each other company and you’d get a couple eggs a day, that’s great.”
But some are opposed to the idea, raising concerns that people might be tempted to get chickens for their children at Easter or Christmas, and then neglect or abandon them when the novelty wears off.
Other concerns are that backyard hens might attract rats or cause a smell. But Hughes says “responsible” chicken owners will not have a rat problem, and there is no smell from a small flock of two to six hens.
He calls chickens “amazing” and says there are many benefits to owning them.
“They’re quiet, they keep down the pests, they provide excellent fertilizer, and plus the eggs as well. There are so many positives.”
Founder and chair of the Calgary Food Policy Council, Hughes is also involved in a growing movement in Calgary to put excess city land and unused spaces to use as vegetable plots and community gardens.
It’s all about food security, he says, and eggs from backyard chickens are part of that.
“The wise and savvy distribution of chickens through a neighborhood—that’s sustainable agriculture.”
Known as CLUCK, the group, along with the Calgary Food Policy Council, has been lobbying city council to change a city bylaw that forbids raising livestock in most urban areas.
“I’ve met with 11 different council alderpeople,” says Paul Hughes, head of CLUCK. “The game’s on. It’s a political issue now.”
Hughes is proposing that residents be allowed to have up to six hens in their backyards. Noisy roosters would not be included.
Vancouver amended its bylaws to allow residents to keep urban hens in March. It’s also legal in Victoria, and Toronto and Halifax are looking into it.
“Three hundred cities in North America have a chicken by-law including New York,” says Hughes. “I’m looking at Vancouver and what they did in a large urban centre about five times the size of Calgary maybe, and they have no problem with it.”
Hughes has six chickens in his yard, and says he knows of about three dozen other people in Calgary who are already keeping chickens. One of those, an owner of two chickens who asked not to be identified, says the birds are “really a joy to have around.”
“I believe that a few well-cared-for hens can be an asset to any family wishing to promote healthier, organic eating habits, “greener” gardening practises, and a more cruelty-free lifestyle,” she says.
An area the size of a sheet of plywood, says Hughes, is sufficient for two chickens.
“That’s a lot of room for two chickens. It gives them a chance to move around, stay healthy. If you had six chickens I’d say at least two sheets of plywood, but for two chickens, they’d keep each other company and you’d get a couple eggs a day, that’s great.”
But some are opposed to the idea, raising concerns that people might be tempted to get chickens for their children at Easter or Christmas, and then neglect or abandon them when the novelty wears off.
Other concerns are that backyard hens might attract rats or cause a smell. But Hughes says “responsible” chicken owners will not have a rat problem, and there is no smell from a small flock of two to six hens.
He calls chickens “amazing” and says there are many benefits to owning them.
“They’re quiet, they keep down the pests, they provide excellent fertilizer, and plus the eggs as well. There are so many positives.”
Founder and chair of the Calgary Food Policy Council, Hughes is also involved in a growing movement in Calgary to put excess city land and unused spaces to use as vegetable plots and community gardens.
It’s all about food security, he says, and eggs from backyard chickens are part of that.
“The wise and savvy distribution of chickens through a neighborhood—that’s sustainable agriculture.”
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