Chestermere City Council passed the third reading of the amended animal control bylaw, allowing residential poultry pets on June 13.
Under the amended bylaw, Chestermere residents can have a maximum of six residential poultry pets, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese.
“No roosters are allowed in urban areas,” Community Peace Officer Sgt. Trever Bowman said.
Chickens must be at least four months old to ensure they are female.
Keeping a rooster in an urban area would result in a fine penalty and be the property owner’s responsibility to remove it from the property.
The bylaw indicates that Chestermere residents cannot cause or allow any animal in their care to be in distress, and they must ensure the animal has adequate food and water, care when the animal is wounded or ill, reasonable protection from injurious heat or cold, and shelter with ventilation and space.
The bylaw suggests that chicken keepers should provide opportunities for essential behaviours such as scratching, dustbathing, roosting, pecking, and socializing with the same species.
Chicken keepers should also meet space requirements for the interior floor area, and coop-run outdoor area, in addition to providing a minimum of one nest box for every three chickens, and one perch for chickens that are of a specified size.
“If the animals are being used as pets and companions, they are different than farm animals, and they would subscribe to different guidelines under animal welfare,” Bowman said.
He explained at a previous council meeting, that the size of the property, the type of animal, the potential for noise, odour, cleanliness, and potential effects on adjacent property values would determine if livestock would be permitted in an urban area.
Residents are not currently permitted to keep livestock in any area of the city, except for residential poultry pets.
