I fully support the idea of being able to raise urban chickens in Campbell River.
Keeping chickens will mean that I can be sure that the eggs my family eats come from healthy, happy animals, unlike the cheap mass-produced eggs in the grocery stores which come from hens kept in horrible conditions (tiny cages, in the dark for all of their lives, feathers pecked out). It’s a great way to teach my nieces and nephew where food comes from.
Sensible restrictions on chicken-keeping in the city like not allowing roosters and minimum yard sizes per hen would reduce noise and potential smells and, I’m sure, would be a part of any city bylaw as they are in other cities which allow chicken-keeping.
My backyard is not an oasis of tranquillity – it is full of traffic noise from Alder. I would much rather listen to some gently clucking hens in the gaps between the traffic than my neighbour’s TV.
And who knows, the neighbours might just get some free eggs...
Cynthia Bendickson
Campbell River