CENTRAL MANITOULIN—Following presentations by residents at a property committee meeting, Central Manitoulin council passed a bylaw during its October 26 meeting allowing residents to raise chickens on their property, subject to several conditions. The motion, moved by Councillor Rose Diebolt and seconded by Councillor Brian Bisaillon, read “That By-Law 2023-18, being a bylaw to allow and regulate the keeping of backyard chickens be given its first reading and opened for a 60-day public comment period was carried without dissent.
The bylaw allows that a person may keep chickens in their backyard within the municipality but is to be applied only to properties zoned other than agricultural or rural (where the raising of chickens is not regulated by the municipality).
The bylaw prohibits anyone from allowing or permitting their chickens being at large, those chickens cannot be a rooster if the property in question is smaller than two hectares and cannot be more than four chickens in any event.
Further, the chickens must be fully enclosed to prevent escape and to prevent rodents and predators, and that enclosure must provide shelter from the weather and be adequately ventilated. There must be sufficient roosting area for all of the hens and the enclosure must contain an accessible dust bath area.
The enclosure must be kept in a clean condition to prevent odours that might cause a nuisance to neighbours and must provide each hen with at least four square feet (.37m/sq of coop area and each hen must have access to 10 sq ft of roofed outdoor enclosure.
The chicken coop must be five metres from the rear property lot line and any side lines of the property on which it is located.
Dead chickens must be disposed of within 24 hours and hygienic storage and removal of chicken feces is also a must (a one sq/metre storage limit is imposed on manure). The property where the chickens are being raised must also have a combination of bare earth and vegetation in the outdoor enclosure, be zoned residential and contain at least one residential unit.
A series of provisions ensuring adequate food, water and other care and keeping regulations are included, dictating the locking of coops from sunset to sunrise, the removal of old food and trash in a timely manner. Biosecurity procedures recommended by the Canada Food Inspection Agency are also required.
The bylaw stipulates the chickens are to be for personal use only, and prohibits sales of eggs, manure, meat or other byproducts.
In keeping with a trial period, the backyard chicken bylaw contains a sunset clause of one year and must be re-enacted every year thereafter. The bylaw also provides for bylaw officer empowerment to seize and chickens found to be at large and sets out fines for contravening bylaw provisions.
The complete bylaw may be found posted on the Municipality of Central Manitoulin website.
