An unfortunate lesson in municipal government. So long Chickens!

Well, I guess its time to tell the story of our first encounter with the wonderful group know as the municipal government. On June 2/2016 we received a letter from the R.M (rural municipality). The letter was to inform us there had been a noise complaint and we had 14 days to remove our chickens from the property.

I knew immediately upon reading the letter that this complaint had nothing to do with noise, but rather an existing feud between myself and our nearest neighbours. You see, at this point in time, and for the past several months, our flock consisted only of 4 hens. Yes, you read correctly...four female birds. These birds made absolutely zero noise. The neighbourhood dogs and the wild pigeons all made far more noise than our hens ever could, but try explain that to a board of overpaid folks in suits. Actually, I tried to do just that.

I was told we could appeal the notice with a formal letter. So, with my grade 10 education in hand, I penned the best letter I could to try and make my case. Here is that letter:

To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter to formally request an appeal of the stop notice I received regarding my four pet hens. I understand that a noise complaint has been made, and would like to take this opportunity to make the case that the complaint does not adequately reflect the situation.

The pet chickens in question are four female Rhode island red birds. These are hens and unlike roosters, do NOT crow or make any loud sounds on a regular basis. In fact, the only time the birds would be audible to somebody further than 4-6' from their enclosure is when I surprise them by throwing in a fresh pile of bedding to the enclosure. When I do this, it is typically on a bi-weekly basis and the noise made is significantly quieter than a dogs bark and lasts less than 2-3 seconds.

I would welcome any representative from the RM to come down and set up a camera, along with a decibel meter for a day. I assure you, this would immediately put to rest any claims that the birds could possibly cause any noise audible to neighbouring properties, never mind be a consistent nuisance.

Although these birds do not make noise, I am not denying the complainant has heard chickens in the neighbourhood at inappropriate hours. I would like to point out that another resident on the street owns a rooster that crows loudly enough to be heard several doors down. This would be the noise that is being heard and is most certainly NOT coming from our birds.

I did in fact own a rooster several months ago, however upon a neighbour mentioning they could hear him crowing, I put the bird down. The neighbour who had brought it to my attention thanked me, as well as mentioned he did not hear the remaining hens and was satisfied with my solution.

I would like council to be aware, that prior to my purchase of the birds I did make a call to the gentleman in the planning office at the RM. I was informed that no bylaw specifically prohibited having hens at my property, and so long as they did not create noise that bothered the neighbours, I should not have any issues and had the green light to proceed.

It is my firm belief that this complaint came as a result of an existing feud between the next door neighbour and myself, and was simply an attempt at causing us issues, rather than a valid concern.

These birds are very quiet, and we consider them pets for our young daughter, not livestock. They are not raised for profit. They are not raised to be sold. They are raised as pets. They make no more noise in the neighbourhood than the pigeons or robins that roam freely. That said, I have a hard time understanding how they could be prohibited, when the many dogs in the development that bark and howl loudly are accepted and permitted.

It is my understanding that when a bylaw representative for the RM came to see the birds in person, he was in agreement that they were not causing any noise, and that if considered pets, he did not see cause for concern. Based on this conversation, I was shocked and upset by the stop notice I received by mail shortly after his visit.

I urge you to give consideration to the points I have brought forward, and if you have any doubt, I welcome and encourage you to come to the property and see for yourselves that the points I've made are 100% truthful.

I would like to thank you in advance for taking the time to read my letter of appeal, and for your due consideration of the facts I have presented to you. If you require further information, feel free to contact me by phone at 204-38*-1**0.

Best regards,

Damian L****

A few days past, and I got word that my appeal had been denied by council. I was told that I could now apply for an amendment to the bylaw by sending them $225 and an application form. This would result in them sending a letter to every home within 100 yards of my property informing the neighbours of my intent to keep chickens. If no opposition was raised, we would be approved.

I was hesitant, as they refused to tell me if the original complainant did in fact live within 100 yards of our residence. Why should we fork out the cash to kick a dead horse?!

Luckily for me, my neighbour with the overly vocal rooster opted to spend the money and apply. Considering we have the same neighbours, I could simply judge the result of his attempt to make an informed decision on wether or not to apply myself.

He seemed confident...assured me he had spoken to everybody nearby. "They all say its fine. They wouldnt lie to me face, I trust them" he told me.

Needless to say, the guy who lives next to him who assured him it was fine, showed up to the council meeting to voice his strong opposition to the chicken. Go figure....motion denied.

And so ends one of many chapters in our journey. We will have chickens again, as we are very actively seeking a larger property much further from any creatures we can't eat ;)

So what to do with the coop? Well, I guess now is as good a time as ever to HOP into something new!