GUELPH/ERAMOSA – Residents will soon have a chance to weigh in on whether or not to permit chicken and other fowl on smaller agricultural and rural lots across the township.
An ongoing discussion through 2023 and 2024, Guelph/Eramosa council is holding a public meeting next week to discuss a proposed bylaw that would permit chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys on rural residential properties that are a minimum of one acre and smaller agriculture properties between one or two acres.
Domestic poultry are currently only permitted on agriculturally zoned properties two acres or larger in the township.
A staff report said key elements of the proposed bylaw include specific limits on the number and type of domestic poultry that can be kept, enclosure and shelter requirements to ensure safe living conditions and provisions to mitigate potential noise, odour and waste management concerns.
Three of seven municipalities in the county currently allow backyard hens: Centre Wellington, Minto, and Erin.
Wellington North, Puslinch, and Mapleton do not currently permit backyard hens.
The public meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 7 at 1 p.m.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.
