To Whom it Concerns;

I, a tax paying resident of Deep River, ON, would like to address the issue of backyard chicken keeping.  This issue has been overshadowed by confusion and misinformation for years and it is time this was clarified.  Rules have been vaguely referred to and inconsistently ignored and enforced with little seeming rhyme or reason. I am in support of allowing residents to keep a small backyard flock. 

The reasons for allowing backyard flocks greatly outweigh the arguments against.  We are living in increasingly uncertain times and backyard flocks can lend a tremendous amount of security and positivity to daily life.
 
Firstly ticks are invading local forests and recreational areas like never before.  This is creating more Lyme disease.  Lyme disease is devastating to individuals and pets, an enormous expense to local health services and there is no vaccine.  A study shows that chickens foraging in a pasture can eat 3-331 ticks in a 30-60 minute span, with the average chicken eating over 80 ticks! Instances of Lyme disease have more than doubled in the Ottawa Valley, from 74 to 168 from 2016 to 2017.  Assuming an increase rate of 44% / year, in 2020 you could estimate that the Ottawa Valley has approximately 500 cases of Lyme Disease.  Chickens also dramatically reduce the numbers of black flies, mosquito's, small snakes, mice, and other pests.
Chicken manure is one of the most effective fertilizers available.  It is very high in nitrogen and also contains a good amount of potassium and phosphorus.  If you’ve tried to garden in Deep River you are aware that the soil is very sandy and generally poor.  Availability of quality fertilizer allows residents to grow more of their own produce, thus increasing food security for all. In addition to all of this - raising chicken's reduces one's food waste year round; they can be fed nearly everything we as humans consume. This keeps our landfill contributions lower.

Backyard flocks allow greater food security which is vital to Ontarians.  Allowing backyard flocks ensures that local people can have access to nutritious food at all times.  Did you know that free range, non GMO eggs such as those produced by backyard flocks contain 7 times the Vitamin A and Beta Carotene and almost double the Vitamin E in free range eggs? When it comes to the essential fatty acid Omega the free range variety win again with an incredible 292 mg, versus a pitiful 0.033 mg in battery eggs. You’ll also get less saturated fat in free range eggs.  Don’t let labels fool you; there are no free range rules in Canada.  This could mean the hen has access to pasture and fields for acres or that they are simply kept in what could be described as a large litter box without bars.  Store bought eggs can be as much as 60 days old by the time they get to the store and were probably laid by a hen that has no more room than a sheet of 8*11” paper.

Finally, chickens as pets are grossly underestimated.  Traditionally, chickens have been viewed as livestock.  However, they are much, much more.  In addition to providing eggs, pest and weed control, they are highly intelligent and affectionate.  They are safe for children to be around,are even becoming aids as Support Animals. They offer low maintenance companionship and are relatively cheap to raise and keep.  Chickens are highly intelligent, having shown an ability to recognize more than 100 faces, exhibit object permanence (a trait a human under the age of 2 years does not possess), experience joy, loneliness, frustration, fear, and pain just like the dogs and cats who share our homes.  There is simply no argument against allowing backyard flocks.

Many naysayers would argue that chickens smell, attract wildlife and are dirty.  However, anyone with any knowledge of bird keeping knows it is in the best interest of keeping their flock producing the benefits to keep a clean coop that doesn’t smell.  Chickens actually spend hours a day preening and do not require ongoing grooming like many other pets.  

We are a very small tight nit community; whom most have thought for years maybe even decades that owning chickens was allowed. Bigger cities such as Kingston allow up to 6 hens in backyards. Windsor allows for up to 4 hens in a backyard setting.

In 2016 Niagra Falls (which permits 10 hens in Urban Boundaries) had a record of 10 complaints about hens, vs 500!!! about dogs! 

Toronto is currently engaging in a Pilot Project in regards to keeping small flocks. 

As a tax paying resident of Deep River, I implore Council to allow backyard flocks to flourish and increase food security, companionship opportunities and environmental protection and improvement.  The bylaw needs to change to allow residents to keep a small flock of hens.