Image taken from torontochickens.com

Every once in a while I come across a quirky local Toronto story that is absolutely irresistible. This is the story of the “Toronto Chicken”, a Toronto resident who is using an alias because she is illegally keeping three hens in her yard so that she can use their eggs. These are not any old chickens. They are Clucky, Sally, and Hybie and according to the municipal code Toronto Chicken is breaking the law. The bylaw seems to be quite bizarre in that you can keep pigeons, but not chickens. To read the bylaw, follow the link below.

http://www.torontochickens.com/Toronto_Chickens/City_of_Toronto_Bylaw.html

According to Toronto Animal Services chickens are outlawed because the can be noisy and smelly. However, there is no evidence that there have ever been any complaints made about Toronto Chicken which seems to bear out her claims that “the girls” are quiet and clean. However Toronto Chicken is taking no chances and has set up a series of safe houses in order to protect “the girls” should the long arm of the law descend.

In Canada only 4 municipalities allow the keeping of backyard chickens – Niagara Fall ON, Brampton ON, Victoria BC, and Surrey BC although in the U.S. there are over 170 municipalities that permit backyard chickens. These municipalities are not small backwater towns. They include Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and Boston. To sign Toronto Chicken’s petition to change the bylaw and allow the keeping of backyard chickens in Toronto follow the link below.
http://www.torontochickens.com/Toronto_Chickens/Petition.html

Toronto Chicken’s has set up a website which provides a lot of information about raising backyard chickens.