Posted by Sheryl Kirby in announcements on June 17, 2008 at 6:30 pm
Fresh eggs every morning. Natural pest control in the garden. And some pretty girls flouncing about the yard. Except it's not allowed.
The City of Toronto prohibits keeping chickens on private property, even if the owners only keep hens for their own use. Some enterprising people are out to change that rule, however, and have started a petition to allow individuals to keep up to three hens as pets and for eggs.
Chickens are lively, funny and come in some truly gorgeous breeds - and they actually make great pets. Check out BackYard Chickens for more information on raising birds in an urban setting. And stop by Omlet UK, where a chicken's dream house, with all the amenities, is available to UK residents, where backyard chickens are encouraged.
Please sign the petition and help make backyard chickens legal in Toronto.
EDIT - Gail Gordon Oliver of Edible Toronto sent me a link to this great site about Toronto Chickens.
I, for one, love the idea of fresh eggs but I would be concerned about predators-coyotes, foxes, even cats, attack the chickens.
Also, I don't mean to sound paranoid but the has the thought of avian flu crossed anyone's mind?
Re Avian flu ... here's an article:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/03/12/bc-chickenflocks.html
Mrsleny,
I don't think there are a lot of foxes and coyotes in downtown Toronto, although you're right about cats, as well as raccoons. It's not as simple as just setting some chickens loose in your backyard. It requires a lot of planning and forethought. The Eglu coops I link to on the Omlet site sort of cover everything, and anyone thinking about adding some chickens to their lives should absolutely do their research.
As for the avian flu issue, I don't know a lot about it, but my understanding is that it usually occurs in situations where the flocks are large and crammed together in unsanitary conditions. 2 or 3 healthy, well-kept hens aren't likely to pose any more of a risk than walking past some pigeons on the street. Also, check out some of the sites I link to in the post - all of them touch on the avian flu issue with regards to backyard chickens.
mrsleny, Sheryl's right: it's imperative that one does lots of research before simply going out and buying some chickens for the backyard. Part of getting the City of Toronto to legalize ownership of chickens would involve an understanding that residents who go this route will do so responsibly and treat their animals humanely, or face penalties.
The commonly heard argument that chickens spread disease appears to be a fallacy where "pet" chickens are concerned. The following is from the TorontoChickens.com website:
Flu? What Flew?
FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2008
Bird flu is a contagious disease caused by the Influenza A virus. This virus (H5N1) is an aquatic virus which thrives in a wet environment such as a factory farm setting. Backyard chickens are far less likely to become infected and spread this disease:
The virus requires a moist environment to survive (manure-saturated factory farms provide the perfect wet environment). Backyard sunshine will kill the virus very quickly.
Backyard chickens have a robust immune system, making it less likely that they will get infected in the first place. Contrast this with factory-farmed chickens, raised in an unnatural environment with no sunlight, no exercise, no fresh air, utilizing antibiotics and pesticides.
Factory farms keep the birds in close contact with each other, increasing the likelihood of the virus quickly spreading to the entire factory population.
Source: Dr. Michael Greger
The Urban Chicken debate has gone through HRM city council recently, as a young lady in Halifax’s North End kept 3 chickens in a back yard coop for some time. Many folks came to rally both for and against the chickens and after much debating it was general consensus that the cons far outweighed the pros.
The idea of urban chickens is good in theory, they do eat a lot of insects, some breeds are incredibly beautiful and fresh free range eggs - for free, who can beat that? The cons though are that the chicken feed, feces and the birds themselves will attract undesirable wildlife. Large cities like Toronto may not have a problem with foxes and coyotes but there are mice, rats, squirrels, possums, raccoons and the disease and vermin they may all carry. Of course family pets like cats and dogs may be interested in them too. Noise and smell (stench actually, as was the case in North End Halifax) become an issue and was initially the reason someone had filed a complaint with HRM city council. Even a clean coop can smell terrible on a cold day while a +37 degree day (before humidex) can be absolutely breath taking-quite literally. Chicken feces (birds/poultry of any sort) contains some pretty nasty spores which have been known to cause all sorts of human illnesses like toxoplasmosis and certain strains of cancer that affect the eyes, sinuses/nose, throat and brain. These spores can become air born thus being spread quickly in the wind. People with compromised immune systems can be at great risk but many “healthy” people can easily contract these illnesses as well.
The agreement HRM city council made was not to change the existing bylaws that state although chicken coops in the urban/suburban areas of Halifax are not allowed, existing coops residing where farms/coops are protected by a “grandfather clause” can still keep poultry and certain livestock. In Halifax there are currently several urban farms/coops operating, three of which (are within walking distance of Sheryl’s & my parents home) are less than a 10 minutes drive from Halifax downtown core.
On a side note, there was a (flock?) of chickens found living in a downtown/waterfront park recently. Port workers used to feed the birds which have apparently been living wild for about 6 years. It seems these birds may have been pets at one time as the breeds were a certain heritage variety (sorry the name escapes me) not typically found on farms in Nova Scotia.
Hey Bro, great comment. I was thinking about the Halifax situation when I made this post. I had no idea there were people set up with chickens around the folks' neighbourhood. Think we could convince Pop to set up a chicken coop?
A friend of mine from high school, who now lives just outside the Halifax city limits on the Portuguese Cove Road, and as such is exempt from the bylaw, has had hens for about a year now. They did lose a couple to weasels, but neither birds or humans have gotten sick or had any other problems.
And having spent Monday at a Ontario farm where a flock of 80 chickens were running around free, I've got to say that it really didn't smell bad at all. I think it's all about how much effort the individual puts into care and maintenance.
Also, while there is an issue with potential toxoplasmosis, if the powers that be were that concerned, they'd ban all pet birds including budgies, parrots, etc. The guy in the apartment next to me breeds lovebirds - he's got about 20 over there. You can't tell me that's less dangerous than 3 chickens that live outside or the roving gangs of up to 100 Canada geese that regularly take over Toronto parks.
Interesting.
I believe it all boils down to responsible pet ownership. I personally spoke to Animal Control services in the Canadian cities where chickens are permitted, and there have not been any serious problems. It is up to the owner to keep the coop clean and secure the food. The chickens themselves serve as excellent guards against rodents getting into their feed. Any mouse that gets into the coop, does not make it out alive. Just as an accumulation of dog or cat feces would be cause for concern in the city, so would chicken droppings. I empty the droppings into the compost bin (excellent source of nitrogen) and cover with some dried leaves (carbon source). There is no smell. Backyard chickens live in harmony in 72 U.S. cities, throughout the U.K. and many many other countries. I believe that Torontonians are every bit as responsible.
Regarding Toxoplasmosis:
I found the following on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta website. The primary host for the parasite is the cat family.
Animal-to-human (zoonotic) transmission
Cats play an important role in the spread of toxoplasmosis. They become infected by eating infected rodents, birds, or other small animals. The parasite is then passed in the cat's feces in an oocyst form, which is microscopic.
Kittens and cats can shed millions of oocysts in their feces for as long as 3 weeks after infection. Mature cats are less likely to shed Toxoplasma if they have been previously infected. A Toxoplasma-infected cat that is shedding the parasite in its feces contaminates the litter box. If the cat is allowed outside, it can contaminate the soil or water in the environment as well.
People can accidentally swallow the oocyst form of the parasite. People can be infected by:
Accidental ingestion of oocysts after cleaning a cat's litter box when the cat has shed Toxoplasma in its feces
Accidental ingestion of oocysts after touching or ingesting anything that has come into contact with a cat's feces that contain Toxoplasma
Accidental ingestion of oocysts in contaminated soil (e.g., not washing hands after gardening or eating unwashed fruits or vegetables from a garden)
Drinking water contaminated with the Toxoplasma parasite
Regarding James Kirby's comment on cancer, I cannot find any support. I'd appreciate the supporting documentation. I would be more concerned about the antibiotics, pesticides and nutritional quality of eggs from factory farms.