I have a friend in town that’s been working very hard the last couple of years to get himself set up with some backyard chickens. A couple of years, you ask? Years?! I’m not kidding. When you’re a pioneer, in a new age kind of way, things take a while to happen.
My friend started way back last year by doing his homework. He wanted to have some chickens to feed his growing family fresh eggs, with maybe enough to share with the neighbours. Once he felt he was well informed, he wrote a nice long letter to Council, explaining what he’d like to do.
You see, his lot was large enough to accommodate the current Oak Bay bylaws, but it wasn’t wide enough for the appropriate set-backs. Like a good rule-abiding guy, he wrote to Council to see about a variance, or even changing the bylaw for everyone. He went to the Council meetings, where we met, and presented his case very eloquently. When Council balked, he got letters of support from all his neighbours, and returned to yet another meeting.
Council finally changed the bylaw to accommodate his narrow lot, guffawing that it was likely only to affect him, as no one else was going to be keeping backyard chickens, right? Ooooooookaaaay.
So, what’s the hold up then? Well, besides the fact that my friend has had a new addition to the family in the year since we met at Council, there have been other set backs that have slowed him down on his chicken journey. He has gone through quite a rigorous process in getting his chicken coop approved by the building department. Believe it or not, he has to have a permit, and an inspection for the coop! He even had to submit plans! Are they inspecting dog houses now too?!
My friend is nearly at the finish line, and I can hardly wait to see how it all goes! I have been learning a little here and there about backyard urban chickens and hope that Council will change the bylaw to include all lot sizes in Oak Bay eventually. That way, I can join the urban chicken revolution, and do what my parents, my grandparents, and theirs did too. Because as much as this whole backyard chicken thing is new to my generation, who has been more removed from our food production than any generation before us, it’s not a new idea.
The only thing is, we get to have cool new-fangled inventions like these, to make it all that much easier and convenient to get down to Earth.
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