Glad to help a fellow backyard chicken enthusiast out!

If you haven’t checked out ThomasK’s Urban Chickens blog yet, that’s a great place to start. He’s been posting about the efforts of others across North America who are trying to get laws changed in their communities to allow for chickens. Looking at the proposals of others can certainly give you a good idea on what to use in your approach, although you know your community and have to take the unique “flavor” into consideration.

Here in Chicago we have NO rules about keeping chickens or any other type of “livestock,” believe it or not. The city code does explicitly prohibit the dyeing of chicks and ducklings [no pink, blue or green baby poultry for Easter] and the keeping of any animal “for purposes of slaughter” in a residential neighborhood. Now, exactly what this “purposes of slaughter” means is pretty vague: does it just ban slaughtering an animal in a residential area, or does it allow for people to bring their chickens, rabbits, etc. to a licensed butcher for slaughter, or does it outright ban the keeping of any animal you intend to eat? Most folks seem to prefer to not delve into the exact meaning behind this ordinance.

Other than that, there is no other law on the books in Chicago specifically pertaining to poultry raising. There are nuisance laws that could be enforced if people aren’t caring for their chickens well, just as they can be ticketed for not caring for their dogs properly.

If you look at the laws in other other towns, they basically have certain key elements to them: outright banning of roosters (to address the “noise issue”), restrictions on the number of hens, and requirements for accommodations. Some towns also require permitting and/or licensing, similar to how one often has to purchase a license for a dog. Permits may be required for the construction of housing, or to enforce certain standards for housing. The problem with licensing and permitting is that towns often see this as yet another thing they have to pay someone to review and enforce; the fees gathered rarely cover the costs of administering these things.

Are there others in your community who would support you? Dog breed bans often fail or are over-turned because there are enough people in the community who object to them, and because they are not supported by national animal rights organizations. These same organizations may not be viable supporters for your efforts, but others may be. Do you have a local co-op? Folks who support co-ops are often more likely to support local food movements, and raising chickens can be looked at as a local food issue. What other allies could you have in your community?

Linda

Sincerely,
Stephanie

Wanted to mention that if those chicks are still little they might need to be under the brooder lamp still for warmth (you didn’t mention their age). If it isn’t too warm outside, and if they are still little enough to need a high temperature, more than a short visit outside might stress them.

But I’m thinking maybe this is an example of how little chicks sometimes just plop down and rest in funny ways?

Best,
Nancy

As for letting the chicks roam the yard, you definitely need to monitor their activity if you want to preserve your garden! Chickens pretty much like the same foods we do, so they will peck your tomatoes, eat your pepper plants (mine don’t like the actual peppers themselves so much, but love the plant), and eat the ripe berries. Also, their dust bathing activity can be pretty destructive, too. The soil in raised beds is often soft and loose: perfect for dust bathing.

So, if you don’t want your garden to be too “hen-pecked” let them roam about an hour before dark (bed time for chickens) and watch them. If they get into something they shouldn’t, you’ll have to shoo them away from it or entice them away with a well-loved treat. You may decide to cover certain plants with bird netting or put some fencing around your beds to protect them, too. Recall that chickens *can* fly, though, and if the chickens really want to snack on something they will try to fly over a short barrier.

Welcome to the fun of backyard hens! You and your children will enjoy having chickens, and when they start to lay eggs…well, it just gets better!