The City of Woodcreek should adopt an ordinance to allow backyard hens. The Covid pandemic has exposed to us that we may need to rethink our access to food security and our future. And like Victory Gardens, the city should allow our citizen's the ability to create their own sense of security when it comes to their food production. A list of the positives for backyard hens includes, fresh organic eggs with greater nutritional value, educational value for children and adults, free fertilizer for garden beds, cut down on food waste (chickens love table scraps), chickens as therapy, entertainment value, and more. This will help lower the stress of our citizens. Having backyard hens shifts our focus more towards being independent and self sustaining. This could build a better sense of community.  As with gardening, we often share our bounty harvests with our neighbors.

It also helps to remove one more government restriction on what you can do in your own backyard.

What follows is a SAMPLE city ordinance of what we could have in Woodcreek...

Keeping Chicken Hens

Keeping allowed in residential districts; maximum number

A person may keep or house up to twelve (12) chicken hens on property that is one acre or more in size and located in a residential zoned district. A person may keep or house up to nine (9) chicken hens on property that is less than one acre in size but not smaller than ten thousand square feet, and located in a residential zoned district. A person may keep or house up to six (6) chicken hens on property that is ten thousand (10,000) square feet or less in size and located in a residential zoned district. It is recommended that no flock shall contain less than three hens. (This is for the health of the hens, as they are social animals).

Regulations

In addition to the requirements listed, a person who keeps or houses chicken hens pursuant to this division must adhere to the following requirements:

(1) The principal use of the person's property must be residential.

(2) No person shall keep any rooster within the city limits.

(3) No person shall slaughter any hens.

(4) A fully enclosed, predator-resistant covered chicken run must contain the hens, with a minimum of ten (10) square feet of floor space given per hen. This enclosure will determine the amount of hens allowed, up to the maximum based on the size of your lot. (roofing area: can be made of wire cloth or traditional roofing materials)

(5) No covered enclosure used to keep chicken hens shall be located closer than seven and one half (7 1/2) feet to the property line of any adjacent property and shall not be located closer than fifteen (15) feet to any residential structure on the adjacent property unless the subject property owner also owns the adjacent property, or seek and obtain written permission from affected neighbor. Such enclosures may be placed closer to an adjacent property line than the specified setback amounts if the subject property owner also owns the adjacent property. For purposes of this division, “adjacent property” includes any parcel of property that comes into contact with one (1) or more points of the subject property, but does not include parcels that are legally adjacent to but are in fact separated from the property by a public or private street or waterway.

(6) All enclosures used to keep chicken hens shall be well constructed and kept in good repair.

(7) All feed and other items associated with the keeping of chicken hens shall be stored in rodent proof containers.

 

If you are a resident of Woodcreek, TX, please sign today to show your support for changing the city ordinance against allowing backyard hens. (Currently it is not allowed). We can change that.

Please pass this on to your neighbors and ask them to sign on as well.

Thank you.