Vancouver city council recently voted unanimously in favour of scratching out an old bylaw that prevented the rearing of chickens in residential neighbourhoods. This act reflects an urban trend that is currently in full flight in North American towns and cities. With varying conditions in all the many jurisdictions, it's legal to keep flocks in Victoria, Burnaby, New Westminster, New York, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Portland, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Denver, Atlanta, Nashville, San Jose, Houston, San Francisco and countless other urban and suburban roosts. But until a couple of days ago, Vancouver chicken cops were ready to pluck any outlaw hens from residences.
So why have so many city councils been brooding over this issue recently? Is it because the downturn in the economy has led people to scratch a living from their formerly ornamental gardens? Is it because so many urbanites see commercial, battery chicken farms as inhumane? Therefore some people think that they can lay claim to part of the free run, free range, organic, healthy living, anti-big business, anti-food importing attitude that is popular in certain circles, just by practicing a little backyard animal husbandry? I think the answer to the latter question is yes.
Backyard chicken flocks are a staple part of family meals for countless millions the world over and not for trendy reasons as is the case in rich North America. Where ever land is available and money is scarce people don't stew about issues such as whether or not the chickens can run free in the sun. Chickens are simply kept for food.
Here in Vancouver, a dozen eggs from a commercial farm costs around three dollars. Free run/range eggs cost a dollar or two more. These prices are hardly high enough to ruffle the feathers of locals, all of which count their incomes in the thousands of dollars. I recently bought a whole, fresh, three pound, fryer chicken at No Frills, a local grocery store, for a dollar a pound! I regularly lay more than that on the bar at Dix for a beer!
Although the repealing of this local bylaw might egg on a few dozen city dwellers to try their hands at raising chickens, I hardly think that we'll see hens cooped up on thousands of apartment balconies in Yaletown nor will we be hearing many cock-a-doodle-doos in the gardens of Kerrisdale mansions. Having said that, people do love their pets and hens make engaging pets. There are countless thousands of dogs and cats living in Vancouver apartments and they are all defecating in boxes and city parks. Adding a few layers to the list of pets isn't going to turn the city into a barnyard. But if a couple of rich celebrity chicks are seen on Robson street with hens' heads peeking out of their purses, old and young alike may pick up the trend of keeping chickens as pet companions. The next thing of course will be pet accessories and services for urban chicks. Diamond leg bands, feather dusters and hen parties will be all the rage this season, I predict. Empty nesters who are missing their children will start keeping exotic breeds for their distinct personalities. We'll probably have to stop eating chicken wings in bars because it will be seen as cruelty toward animals. No doubt Petcetera and PetSmart will start selling fancy, canned and organic chicken feed that' s advertised on TV. And of course, vegetarians will raise vegetarian chickens while carnivores will feed their chickens slugs and bugs. Local veterinarians will flock to refresher courses on chickens. Some conscientious new pet chicken owners will accompany their hens to obedience schools and focus groups but many will just wing it.
Since the change in the by-law was announced, inevitably there has been some clucking from people in various interest groups. Perhaps some of the few locals who farm vegetables in their urban gardens will take a gander at adding chicken coops to their urban home steads. After all, is a chicken in a cockamamie back yard cage any different than a cockatoo or a cockatiel in a gilded cage?...Well chicken eggs are bigger and size does matter which breeds another question. What about getting some ostrich sized eggs hatching in our backyards? This isn't just a little chicken shit! Having a few seven foot tall, three hundred pound birds scratching under the fence could really get the neighbours squawking. An owner would likely have to deal with less foul play from resident coyotes and hawks however.
Some have voiced concerns that aging layers will end up as home grown cockaleekie in city cock pots. Slaughtering a guinea hen in the garage is one thing, but slaughtering ostriches would certainly get people running around the neighbourhoods like chickens with their heads cut off! But giant African chickens will likely never come home to roost and I don't see this change to Vancouver's pet by-law as much to crow about.
JulianOnePlanet Publications Copyright 2009
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