Chickens may be allowed to live in backyards in Smiths Falls, Ont.

The Smiths Falls, Ont. Council will vote this week on a proposal to allow residents to have backyard chickens. CTV’s Jack Richardson has more.

Chickens may soon be allowed to live in backyards in Smiths Falls, Ont.

Council will vote Tuesday on a proposal for a Backyard Hen Pilot Program, allowing residents to keep chickens in their backyard. The motion calls for a one-year pilot project.

If approved, residents will be allowed to keep up to six backyard hens at a residential property or a property used primarily for residence. Hen coops must be draft-proof, dry and insulated from the public.

Under the one-year pilot project, coops will not be permitted in front yards, residents will not be allowed to keep roosters, and hens are not allowed to roam in public places. Hens are free to wander in fenced backyards.

The sale of eggs from hens will also be prohibited.

Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow tells CTV News that officials have done their homework on the pros and cons of the pilot project by looking at how other communities have implemented it.

“If people want to have them and they can have them safely, then why would we stand in the way?” he said.

Smiths Falls will not require residents to obtain a licence or pay a fee to keep hens. Staff say enforcement of the Backyard Hen Pilot Program will be on a complaint basis.

“If someone is going to take the initiative of setting up a coop, buying the chicks and setting themselves up to have backyard hens and being able to enjoy the eggs, they’re probably going to be responsible,” Pankow said.

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Smiths Falls resident Brittney Veilleux will be putting chickens in her backyard as soon as she’s able. She says being able to save money on eggs at the grocery store is a motivating factor.

“Just having fresh eggs daily to make breakfast, bake with and just reduce our grocery costs,” she said.

Veilleux moved into her home two years ago and thinks an unused shed in her backyard would be a perfect chicken coop.

In 2021, Carleton Place council approved the Backyard Hens bylaw, allowing residents to keep up to six hens. Residents of Carleton Place are required to obtain a hen coop licence from the municipality to keep hens on their property.

The City of Ottawa does not allow residents to keep backyard chickens.

In Gatineau, residents are allowed laying hens in backyards with a licence. No roosters are allowed in the city.

Smiths Falls Council meets at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

With files from CTV News Ottawa’s Peter Szperling and Jack Richardson