City of Airdrie to allow backyard chickens for pilot project

Up to 20 properties in Airdrie will soon be home to backyard hens.

The City Council of Airdrie has approved a pilot project that will see a maximum of 20 residential homes hosting up to four hens each.

The hens and the eggs they make are not to be sold, as they are intended for personal use only, according to a release from the City of Airdrie.

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The project will run for 18 months , during which time feedback will be given by both participants and the general public to help in the decision on backyard hen allowance for the city as a whole.

According to the project guidelines, participants must have a minimum property size of 4,305 sq ft, have a maximum of four hens and a minimum of two (hens, apparently, get lonely), and attend a backyard hens 101 session.

Other regulations include having a fenced backyard and a curfew wherein the hens must be in their coops by 10 pm and let out no earlier than 7 pm.

No chicks or roosters allowed.

The guideline has 20 regulations all told, and gives City Council the authority to cancel the project with 30 days written notice – “at which time all hens and structures may be required to be removed from properties.”

For the sake of the hens and their new homes, we really hope that isn’t the case.