Animal Services

Backyard chickens must be registered each year (free registration process) through the Province of BC and the District of Lake Country. 

Step one:   BC Premises ID Registration

Step two:   District of Lake Country Backyard Chicken Registration

Up to five (5) backyard chickens (no roosters). 

The Zoning Bylaw only allows for the keeping of female chickens (hens) four months of age or older on RR3 and RU1-zoed lots that do not have “agricultural” as an allowable usage. No other fowl or farm animals are allowed. The regulations allow hens kept for personal use only. The sale of eggs or associated agricultural products is not permitted.

No. The products from backyard hens are for personal use only. Commercial sale of eggs, meats, manure or any other hen products is prohibited. 

You will need to protect your hens from predators and keep them from entering a neighbour’s property. Therefore, they must be kept in a chicken enclosure, contained on all sides, including a roof. The regulation does not permit free-run chickens on your property. 

Yes. You must ensure all backyard chickens are kept within a secure and locked coop from dusk until dawn. Basically, chicken enclosures must have a coop (0.4 m² per hen or ~4ft2 ) and a run (1 m² per hen or ~10ft² ) and not be located closer than 2.0 m from rear or internal side lot lines and 3.0 m from flanking side lot lines or on-site dwellings.

Enclosures must be kept in sanitary condition and hens protected against access of other animals. 

The Bylaw specifies you must construct and maintain a chicken enclosure that: 

1. Is a maximum of 2.0 metres in height;
2. Is constructed in a rear yard; 
3. Is located: 
4. A minimum of 2.0 metres from a rear lot line, 
5. A minimum of 2.0 metres from an interior side lot line, 
6. A minimum of 3.0 metres from a flanking side lot line, and 
7. A minimum of 3.0 metres from a dwelling unit on the property; 
8. Includes a coop with a floor area of at least 0.4 square metres per hen; 
9. Includes a hen yard that is at least 1 square metre of floor area per hen with a floor consisting of any combination of vegetated or bare earth; 
10. Is constructed and maintained to: 
11. Ensure backyard chickens are contained at all times; 
12. Prevent access by other animals; 
13. Secure all food and water to avoid attracting other animals; 
14. Remain in good and sanitary condition and repair; 
15. Prevent attraction or harbouring of pests, wildlife or vermin; 
16. Prevent obnoxious odours; 
17. Prevent conditions that interfere with the health or well-being of a hen. 

Example Chicken Enclosure Design

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Where backyard chickens are permitted, no person shall: 

1. Keep or permit to be kept any rooster on a property they own or occupy; 
2. Have or permit more than one chicken enclosure; 
3. Allow backyard chickens to stray, trespass or graze on a highway, public place, private property or unfenced land; 
4. Butcher or euthanize hens; 
5. Dispose of dead backyard hens except by delivering to a farm, abattoir, veterinarian or other facility legally permitted and able to dispose of backyard chicken carcasses; or 
6. Deposit manure from backyard chickens in the municipal sewage or storm drain system, or compost manure in such a way as to allow manure to enter the municipal sewage or storm drain system. 

• Chickens are ground dwelling birds, but can fly for short distances. They are very social creatures that depend on one another for companionship and security. Chickens can live 14 years or more.
• Laying hens need approximately 15 hours of light a day in order to keep laying. You may wish to provide an artificial light source during the darker winter months or you may wish to give your hen the natural break during the winter.
• Egg laying for a hen generally starts at 6 months old. Domesticated hens have been bred to lay one egg a day, but by 18 months of age, egg laying generally diminishes and many adult or senior hens stop laying altogether. Purebred chickens or heritage breeds tend to lay eggs longer.
• The majority of a hen’s waking hours are spent active, grazing, foraging for food (plants, bugs and occasionally small rodents), dust bathing, preening, playing and napping.

How long do chickens lay eggs before they become non-laying hens? 

At about three or four years, production is not very efficient. Most commercial and farm hens are culled after their second season of laying. 

How do I deal with excrement? 

Chicken manure makes excellent compost when combined with material high in carbon. Many materials used for litter in the coop and run (such as wood shavings, straw and sawdust) are high in carbon, making the mixture of chicken manure and litter a balanced ingredient for your compost pile. 

It is important that at least once a year, usually in the spring, a thorough cleaning is done on the coop and yard. Also cleaning before introducing new birds to the area will limit the spread of disease. A fall cleaning is also helpful for mite control over winter. During this cleaning, safety precautions must be taken in dealing with dust. Inhalation of dried chicken manure can be harmful to humans.

What is their diet and daily care needs? 

Chickens need to be fed and water changed daily. They need to be let out of the coop each morning and put into the coop at dusk each night to protect them from predators. Eggs should be picked up twice a day. The coop and pen should be cleaned out weekly to maintain sanitation and odor control. Chickens drink 1 ‐ 2 cups of water a day.

Chickens are omnivores. They eat grains, fruits, and vegetables as well as insects. Chickens should typically be fed a prepared feed that is balanced for vitamins, minerals, and protein. A healthy laying hen diet should also contain crushed oystershell for egg production, and grit for digestion. A six pound hen will eat roughly 3 pounds of feed each week.

They love fruit and vegetable scraps from the kitchen and garden, as well as bread.

Feed consumption may increase in the winter when burning more calories, and decrease in the heat of the summer. A critical part of a chicken's diet is continual access to clean, fresh water. This is especially true in the summer as they cool themselves by panting.

Chickens need other chickens to be happy and healthy. Plan to have at least 2. They are flock animals and need the companionship of other chickens. Temperament and social structures of animals should be taken into account, and separate areas provided for incompatible birds. With multiple birds, chickens will establish a pecking order where one bird is dominant and the rest fall behind in a declining hierarchical scale. Between the ‘top chicken’ and the ‘bottom chicken’, the access to food and water is determined by the pecking order established in the flock.

What costs should I consider before deciding to have backyard chickens? 

Besides construction of a chicken coop and pen and purchase of the hens, start up costs also include food storage, security locks, lighting, and feed & water dishes. Ongoing costs include building maintenance and cleaning, bedding, food, nutritional supplements, parasite control, grooming, vet care, and care when you are away over a long period of time.

I want to be a good neighbour, what should I consider? 

• Chickens do not respect property lines and can cause damage to your neighbor’s garden and property. Keep your chickens enclosed or confined to your property.
• Properly dispose of used hen litter. Improper composting or storage may create excessive odor and fly problems that may affect your neighbours.

Although in most circumstances chickens pose a relatively low risk of giving disease to humans, there are a few infections that can be transmitted back and forth. Proper care and handling of eggs and disposal of poultry carcasses are critical to avoid problems

Please contact the District of Lake Country at planning@lakecountry.bc.ca   

Ministry of Agriculture   

Poultry - Province of British Columbia
Small Flock Poultry Health
Protect Your Flock from Avian Flu 

Other

• Small Lot Farms and Backyard Flocks - BC Egg
• Thinking of keeping backyard hens? - SPCA
• RDNO-Backyard Chickens in Electoral Areas 
• Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) | HealthLink BC
• How to prevent and detect disease in small flocks and pet birds - inspection.canada.ca
• Protecting Your Flock from Influenza-Government of Canada
• Backyardpoultrymag.com  Online magazine that is published by‐monthly with feature articles.  
• Poultryone.com General information on starting out and provides a forum for individuals to write about their experience.
• BackyardChickens.com  Website devoted to the keeping of backyard chickens including best management practices and coop design.