Urban Hen applications underway in Bow Island. (Oleksandr P/Pexels)

By Jesse Gill

Urban hen applications underway in Bow Island as council approves limited licences

May 6, 2024 | 6:21 PM

The Town of Bow Island is accepting applications for residents to have up to four hens at their residence for personal use.

Strong public interest in having this has lead to five licenses being awarded as part of the Urban Hen Bylaw which was approved last council meeting.

Only hens will be allowed with an application deadline of May 24 at 4 p.m.

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A draw will be held if there are more than five applications.

Mayor Gordon Reynolds says several residents had attempted to keep chickens in their yards in the past, and they wanted to better control this.

Adding that bringing something in that has rules around it should make it easier for Bylaw officers to enforce and monitor.

“Some of the rules are designed to make sure that the hens are looked after properly, and animal welfare is important,” Reynolds said.

“They must have a proper coop, and the coop must be a certain distance from the property lines so you don’t impact your neighbors,” he added.

“There’s rules around the disposal of manure and that sort of thing.

Reynolds said they relied heavily on what the Town of Okotoks has already done with their hen program when putting the rules in place for the bylaw.

“We’ve talked to other municipalities that have done this, and the ones that did have guidelines and rules in place say it’s gone extremely well,” Reynolds said.

“We’ll see how it goes. It’s a pilot project, really, and hopefully it’s successful and meets the needs of residents that are interested in doing it,” he added.

“We’ll just see how it goes, and hopefully it meets the needs of the community and eliminates the need for bylaw enforcement to have to come down on people for keeping hens they’re not suppose to have.”