Discussions

Just out of curiousity. And with the rising price of food. Does anyone have laying hens in there yard. Is this allowed the city by law. If not, why? You see people having laying hens on there property in other parts of the world. Just looking for answers for my curiosity thanks.

We are out of Brandon and have hens. If the city allows them (I have no idea) I would not recommend it! Lol. They smell, can be noisy and would attract mice/rats/dogs. They are really not much cheaper to raise than just buying your eggs in the store.  
 
If you want fresh eggs because you want fresh farm eggs then find someone who sells them and go that route.

The exact by law right now that pertains to chickens, but I do know it is illegal to have them in city limits and that by law has gotten involved with a family that tried to raise chickens in their back yard this summer.

lovemygirl said "We are out of Brandon and have hens. If the city allows them (I have no idea) I would not recommend it! Lol. They smell, can be noisy and would attract mice/rats/dogs. They are really not much cheaper to raise than just buying your eggs in the store.     If you want fresh eggs because you want fresh farm eggs then find someone who sells them and go that route. "

unfortunately I believe both having chickens in the back yard and buying and selling eggs(need to be gov. inspected) isnt allowed  
 
a few larger cities are starting to allow up to 3 chickens(no roosters), Brandon is too close to the farm and dare i say not hippy enough to allow such things so until popular opinions change we are stuck buying  
 
Chickens can also live on kitchen scraps and eat bugs and mice and add to a healthy environment, if not over populated imo so defiantly cheaper then buying eggs and meat if you eat a lot, they can smell tho

It's not allowed to buy and sell farm fresh eggs? That is news to me. We sell our extras and know plenty others who do as well. We also sell farm raised chickens that are processed at a non-inspected facility. Pretty sure that is ok too  
 
Yes they will eat bugs/kitchen scraps etc but that should definitely not be their main food source. They cost money to keep just like any other animal. Hens are also very noisy when laying their daily egg. People can't look after their dogs/cats in the city imagine the mess if people were allowed chickens! Lol. Yes there are responsible people but there are a lot of ones that are not.

Ungraded eggs can only be sold by 'farm gate sale' (direct from farmer to consumer). Uninspected chickens must be labelled as such with farmer info, and can only be sold direct from farmer to consumer. The full info and definitions can be found here:  
 
https://www.smallfarmsmanitoba.com/faq

That is factually incorrect. There is a continent wide glut of food. Prices are way down. Watch for sales on chicken at Safeway, they are on a cycle and have been for years. Price is pretty much the same as five years ago

Curlysister - yep exactly how we sell our stuff - at my door, everything labeled correctly etc.  
 
Just FYI that most layers are not used for eating. A layer and a meat chicken are different breeds. Yes there are dual purpose birds but in reality there won't be much cost savings raising a dual purpose bird for both eggs and then eating.

Unfortunately, it is not legal at this point in time. Speak with your local councilor! See if you can get something brewing. Raising chickens is rewarding and delicious...there is no meat better than free-range chicken meat, and the eggs are fantastic. It's not all about the cost (which will be absolutely cheaper than store cost...if you are looking for some very cost-efficient quality food check out the classifieds...there is a lady selling handmixed chicken/duck food...way better than the feed store crumble)...it's about connecting with your food supply in a positive manner. Good luck!

Unless we can come to an agreement.  
 
I'll suggest that four juicy free range roasting chickens a year and a dozen free range layed eggs a month will make me turn my nose up and look the other way .....  
 
Of course, the rest of our neighbors might expect the same deal from you - other than the ones that decide to follow your example. After all if you can, so can they.  
 
I might also be able to look the other way if a neighbor needs to save grocery money by keeping a cow or two: but I'd need a gallon of fresh milk and a pint of fresh cream once a month, and a quarter of beef twice a year.

While chickens in the city are not allowed farm gate sales of eggs and chickens is allowed. I sell my eggs directly to customers: unwashed, as fresh as they come, from free range chickens that go outside and experience as natural a life as I can give them. Many people are now becoming aware of how their food is raised and are taking an interest. I applaud their efforts. It's the whole reason farmers (large and small) do what they do. Nothing tastes as good as something you've grown and produced yourself but the next best thing is purchasing from a farmer that is committed to humane practices and the overall health and well-being of the animals they produce.

I agree with lovemygirl that most people in urban areas should not be raising chickens.Unless you grew up in a rural setting and are experienced in all aspects of a hen's lifespan.I have often wondered how people in urban areas where hens are allowed deal with their birds when they are no longer productive.  
I commend anyone who wants to raise their own food and more people should be doing it.  
In my opinion,a better idea would be to transfer a piece of manicured lawn into a vegetable garden.  
But I do enjoy the sound my hens make after laying an egg and sometimes hearing a rooster crow a hour before the sun comes up.  
What do you think Don Brown

"It's about connecting with your food supply"  
 
Not that I'm a leader but...  
 
Never slaughtered a cow either.  
 
Marpet

I'm going to respectfully disagree with Gord and Lovemygirl as to whether people in the city should have chickens; they do bring up very important concerns about people as far as current welfare of pets such as dogs and cats.  
 
If you are willing to educate yourself on all the aspects of chicken keeping; proper diet, housing for our climate, correct space for the amount of birds to be kept as well as common diseases and health issues that you may be dealing with in the future...then I think people are ok having chickens in the city.  
 
I agree that you should contact your councilor and speak with them. Ask questions. Chicken coops can be smelly and dirty...but I've seen chicken coops that are beautiful and kept incredibly tidy. For coops in a city with only 3-9 chickens, it is certainly attainable. There are feeders that inhibit rodents etc. but you would also need to contain the bagged chicken food. It would take constant work. A quick search of beautiful/fancy chicken coops will yield an amazing assortment of coops.  
 
I urge you to research breeds of chickens because not all breeds are the same. Please know that 3 chickens may not yield 3 eggs every day. Some breeds won't lay well in the winter, or not at all. There are predators; raccoons, skunks, fishers etc. that are present in the city. I’d also agree that by the time the chickens are raised to point of lay, you probably won’t have saved much money. But, having chickens are incredibly wonderful. That alone makes them worthwhile.  
 
Here are a few good sites that can answer a lot of questions and give you a lot of information. The first site has threads on people petitioning to change laws in their cities to allow poultry.  
 
http://www.backyardchickens.com/  
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/  
http://www.mypetchicken.com/

Mandy6 said "I'm going to respectfully disagree with Gord and Lovemygirl as to whether people in the city should have chickens; they do bring up very important concerns about people as far as current welfare of pets such as dogs and cats.     If you are willing to educate yourself on all the aspects of chicken keeping; proper diet, housing for our climate, correct space for the amount of birds to be kept as well as common diseases and health issues that you may be dealing with in the future...then I think people are ok having chickens in the city.     I agree that you should contact your councilor and speak with them. Ask questions. Chicken coops can be smelly and dirty...but I've seen chicken coops that are beautiful and kept incredibly tidy. For coops in a city with only 3-9 chickens, it is certainly attainable. There are feeders that inhibit rodents etc. but you would also need to contain the bagged chicken food. It would take constant work. A quick search of beautiful/fancy chicken coops will yield an amazing assortment of coops.     I urge you to research breeds of chickens because not all breeds are the same. Please know that 3 chickens may not yield 3 eggs every day. Some breeds won't lay well in the winter, or not at all. There are predators; raccoons, skunks, fishers etc. that are present in the city. I’d also agree that by the time the chickens are raised to point of lay, you probably won’t have saved much money. But, having chickens are incredibly wonderful. That alone makes them worthwhile.     Here are a few good sites that can answer a lot of questions and give you a lot of information. The first site has threads on people petitioning to change laws in their cities to allow poultry.     http://www.backyardchickens.com/   http://www.thepoultrysite.com/   http://www.mypetchicken.com/ "

you can't keep chickens in your yard if you live in the city of Brandon.

I know all of the wonderful joys of raising chickens as I have approx 50 of them and they are by far my favourite animal to keep. They are a great deal of work and can fly over a fence. Sure those fancy cages are great but nowhere near the benefit of free ranging. People can't look after their cats/dogs in the city - can you imagine the mess if chickens were allowed! Lol.  
 
And then what happens when those cute chicks start growing and surprise one or two are roosters? Is the pound then going to start taking in roosters and chickens?

Oryx said "    Mandy6 said "I'm going to respectfully disagree with Gord and Lovemygirl as to whether people in the city should have chickens; they do bring up very important concerns about people as far as current welfare of pets such as dogs and cats.     If you are willing to educate yourself on all the aspects of chicken keeping; proper diet, housing for our climate, correct space for the amount of birds to be kept as well as common diseases and health issues that you may be dealing with in the future...then I think people are ok having chickens in the city.     I agree that you should contact your councilor and speak with them. Ask questions. Chicken coops can be smelly and dirty...but I've seen chicken coops that are beautiful and kept incredibly tidy. For coops in a city with only 3-9 chickens, it is certainly attainable. There are feeders that inhibit rodents etc. but you would also need to contain the bagged chicken food. It would take constant work. A quick search of beautiful/fancy chicken coops will yield an amazing assortment of coops.     I urge you to research breeds of chickens because not all breeds are the same. Please know that 3 chickens may not yield 3 eggs every day. Some breeds won't lay well in the winter, or not at all. There are predators; raccoons, skunks, fishers etc. that are present in the city. I’d also agree that by the time the chickens are raised to point of lay, you probably won’t have saved much money. But, having chickens are incredibly wonderful. That alone makes them worthwhile.     Here are a few good sites that can answer a lot of questions and give you a lot of information. The first site has threads on people petitioning to change laws in their cities to allow poultry.     http://www.backyardchickens.com/   http://www.thepoultrysite.com/   http://www.mypetchicken.com/ " you can't keep chickens in your yard if you live in the city of Brandon. "

I saw further up that chickens are not allowed in Brandon.  
 
I'm so sorry I was ambiguous. I was meaning that IF a person is willing to educate themselves regarding all aspects of chickens then I think people "should" be allowed to keep them, not that they "are" allowed to keep them.  
 
I see I did put "are ok having chickens in the city." I was referring to my feelings on the subject, but I can see how it could be taken the wrong way.  
 
Thank you for pointing that out Oryx! I appreciate that! I don't mean to confuse anyone.

lovemygirl said "I know all of the wonderful joys of raising chickens as I have approx 50 of them and they are by far my favourite animal to keep. They are a great deal of work and can fly over a fence. Sure those fancy cages are great but nowhere near the benefit of free ranging. People can't look after their cats/dogs in the city - can you imagine the mess if chickens were allowed! Lol.     And then what happens when those cute chicks start growing and surprise one or two are roosters? Is the pound then going to start taking in roosters and chickens? "

Yes, they are wonderful and they are a lot of work...I very much agree with you.  
Yes, some breeds would most definitely fly over a fence...I agree with you as well...lol.  
And I agree that "some" owners cannot look after they're pets.  
 
That's exactly why I stressed to educate themselves. It's not all fun and games like people think it is. I would presume that after reading about predators, people would understand about putting a proper secure roof on their coop. Raccoons don't care whether it's city chicken or country chicken.  
You have to remember that the cute coops are for 3 or 5 or 7 chickens...not 50 or 150. They still poop a lot...but it's a huge difference.  
And yes, there can be roosters. I've taken in someone's roosters. That's why I stressed about education.  
 
But can it and is it being done in other cities in a decent and responsible manner...from what I've read it can be done.  
 
It seems everything we consider or do is based on the small percentage of the population who aren't doing a good job. Perhaps we should be focusing on the positive such as Calgary has done with their pets (Not necessarily chickens) instead of the negative. Most people will respond better to the positive.  
 
(How much nicer is it to read the "Kindness" post below than the negative posts that are usually on here?  
 
(Note: I don't live in the city)

i guess i was wrong about eggs, i was always told it wasnt allowed, not sure if that changed or i was mis informed pre internet days lol anyway i have had chickens myself so i know the noise and smell they make (dogs bark and poop tho too)and do know people who have sold eggs but what was thought to be under the table type deal lol i have no issue that its done just thought it wasnt allowed  
 
yes layers aren't as good of meat as meat chickens but at the end of their laying life span they can still make a fine soup chicken, so do roosters if they happen to come around just like the old farmers used to do, nothing was wasted and my chickens were absolutely healthy on a variety of scraps, free range and a small bit of grains so I certainly found raising them cheaper then buying and with a dozen layers I had way more eggs then we eat, someone else might not but that was more then enough for us so i think we could defiantly have enough with a smaller amount  
 
so even tho i understand the concerns posted I still agree with marpet in saying it has been done successfully in other cities so i see no reason why we couldn't allow it hear

has been discussed before and I can't see the city ever allowing back yard chickens, I certainly would fight against the idea.

http://vancouver.ca/people-programs/backyard-chickens.aspx  
So why not Brandon or any other city/town?

We live in a small town which allows up to three hens... so we tried it as an experiment. Honestly, while I learned a lot, I would say it is not worth the investment of time or money (to build a coop, buy feed, etc) unless you have a larger flock.

Move to the country. Don't inflict your farmer fantasies on your neighbours.

BuddyCthulhu said "Move to the country. Don't inflict your farmer fantasies on your neighbours. "

.

Pretty sure a lot of people would be upset if chickens were allowed in the city. They're noisy and they smell. Not really worth the investment by the time you build a coop and buy feed as someone posted above.

Anyone who wants to learn all that's involved in looking after chickens is more than welcome to come clean out my coop! Lol

lovemygirl said "Anyone who wants to learn all that's involved in looking after chickens is more than welcome to come clean out my coop! Lol "

I'll come clean out your coop. . Well, depending on how far from Brandon you are.