City of Vancouver releases Draft Chicken Bylaw for public comment

[Heather Havens]

OK people, here is our chance to ask for what we want in the new
bylaw! Please see below:

"... A discussion draft of these guidelines has now been produced and
was provided to the Vancouver Food Policy Council for their review in
September. You can download a copy of this document at
www.vancouver.ca/chickens.

Should you wish to provide feedback or commentary around these
guidelines, please feel free to email us at foodp...@vancouver.ca.
We welcome your input into this process.

We plan to take a revised version of the draft to City Council in
October of this year, and would appreciate any commentary you might
have by Wednesday, October 21, 2009."
___________________________
So as I (Heather Havens) was saying, lets get as many people together
as possible to comment on this draft, so maybe some of it's flaws can
be repaired before it goes to
council!

What I, Heather Havens, would like to see fixed:
- 10 ft from neighbor's dwellings might be reasonable, but 10 ft from
one's own dwelling will definitely be prohibitive (and won't be
followed).
- "No side or front yards" will prohibit corner lots, and it is
rumored that there might be city councilors with corner lots that are
thinking about getting chickens.
- 4 sq ft per hen in hen-house ("coop" is used in the draft and is
confusing) is excessive, contrary to University and vet
recommendations, and will create excessively large, heavy, tall,
obtrusive, and expensive hen-houses. 10 sq ft per hen in their run,
not including their space in their house, is also excessive and will
be prohibitive. 1.5 sq ft per hen inside "hen-house", and 8 sq ft per
hen outside, in their run or coop, is recommended (see attached
University of Vermont Extension publication).
- 1 nest per hen is not correct, 1 per 4 - 5 hens is recommended (see
University of Vermont Extension publication attached).
- Chicks should be discouraged, but not prohibited.
- People want to, and will, let their hens out in their properly
fenced back-yards, while they are there to supervise. It would be nice
if all of these people could do this, which they will be doing
regardless of the bylaw, without breaking the law.

Thanks everyone for your involvement!

Heather Havens, BSci