Urban Hen Keeping
Urban hen keeping can be a rewarding and “egg-citing” experience that can provide families with fresh home-grown eggs. To help guide residents on the best urban hen keep practices, the City of Spruce Grove has hatched a two-year urban hen keeping pilot program.
How does the urban hen keeping pilot program work?
Residents who currently own hens or residents who are looking to add hens to their property can participate in the urban hen keeping pilot program by applying for a licence. To help participants house hens safely, the City has developed the Hens Bylaw, which defines the responsibilities of hen owners as well as identifies rules and regulations for participants who plan to keep hens in Spruce Grove.
Participants will need to build a coop and enclosed run with a fenced outdoor area on their property to house hens as they are not permitted to have free range in backyards. The hen enclosure should be built within a fenced yard, and each hen keeping licence gives owners the ability to house three to six hens on their property. Roosters, unlike hens, can be noisy and are not permitted within the program.
Ready to get cluckin’? Check out the application process and hen coop enclosure guidelines below.
Caring for urban hens
Hen keepers are responsible for hen health and making sure enclosures are in good condition to prevent smells, avoid attracting pests, and be respectful to surrounding neighbours.
Hen enclosures
Participants will need to build an all-season hen enclosure. That means keeping the coop insulated, heated and ventilated!
- Hens need both a coop to rest and an outdoor area to scratch, peck, dust bath and socialize, as this is an important part of overall hen health.
- The hen enclosure should be built at ground level and be a minimum of 1.2 metres from all neighbouring property lines and 1.5 metres from the participants residence.
- Make sure your coop is at least three metres away from all windows and doors and not built over utility right-of-ways.
- Each hen needs at least 0.37 square metres of housing, 0.92 square metres of outdoor space, and coop height should be kept under 1.8 metres. This means enclosures should be a maximum of 9.2 meters squared. Securely attach enclosures to the ground and keep them covered in the winter to help keep hens comfortable during cold weather.
- Clean enclosures help prevent disease and maintain hen health.
- Clean enclosures regularly and keep them in good standing to discourage vermin and avoid unpleasant smells from hen waste.
Hen keeping courses
An experienced hen keeper must mentor residents for the first year of the program. Residents new to urban hen keeping will need to complete at least one of the hen keeping courses below and find a local veterinarian who can assess hen health and provide treatment options should a hen fall sick.
Hen eggs and products
Have you heard the term, don’t put all your eggs all in one basket? In this case, we actually recommend the opposite! Participants should only use eggs for their own personal needs and are not permitted to sell eggs or any other hen products for a profit.
Applying for a hen keeping licence
Before receiving a hen keeping licence, applicants will need to complete a hen keeping licence application form and submit a copy to planningsupport@sprucegrove.org. Applicants can also drop off a completed form in-person at City Hall.
Applicants will need to include the following information:
- A copy of the Certificate of Title for the property listed on the application form and provide written permission from the registered owner of the property permitting hens to be housed on the property.
- Documentation showing that all adjoining neighbours have been notified of the applicant’s intent to participate in the hen keeping program. This letter can be used as a template to notify neighbours.
- If the neighbouring property is an apartment building, church or school, the building manager should be notified.
- If a neighbouring property is undeveloped, developed and vacant, or is City-owned, the applicant is not required to notify the property owner.
- A copy of site drawings for the hen enclosure is needed ahead of time for a future site-specific inspection. This should include the location, size, height and necessary setbacks to the side and rear property lines.
- A copy of certification received for completing an accredited urban hen keeping course.
- Documentation providing contact information for a hen keeping mentor, and contact information for a temporary caregiver in the owner’s absence.
- Provide details of the local veterinarian that can provide support to hens if they need care.
- Pay the hen keeping licence fee.
Licences are valid until December 31 of the year of issue.
Accredited hen keeping courses
Applicants should complete at least one the following hen keeping courses before applying program license.
- Chickens 101 online, by River City Chickens
- U of A Small Flock Poultry Short Course by Peavey Mart on behalf of the University of Alberta
- Backyard Chicken Keeper Course by Urban Chicken Coops Canada
- Urban Chicken Raising by Morinville Public School Learning Farm
Frequently asked questions
- Fresh eggs laid at homes.
- Excellent pets.
- Waste reduction: hens eat weeds, bugs and kitchen scraps.
- To safeguard hen health and ensure best practices are followed.
- To respect community standards and neighbours.
- All hen keeping approvals require a Premises Identification Number (PID). The PID is added to a traceable system of livestock and poultry that shows specific locations and premises of hens.
- The province has an established plan for control and prevention of the spread of animal diseases.
- The province uses an emergency alert warning system to notify animal owners of a natural disaster that could affect their homes and animals.
- The noise levels of hens are quite low; in fact hen noise is lower than that of a barking dog.
- Roosters, unlike hens, crow at dawn and are not permitted within the City.
- Hens do cluck, but most commonly for treats, to warn of a predator or to declare an egg has been laid.
- Hens rest inside the coop enclosure at night and do not usually make noise.
- Participants in the hen keeping program will be required to build a hen enclosure that prevents hens from escaping and other animals from entering.
- Hens must be locked up in the enclosed coop or hen run at all times and coops must be weather-proof and predator-proof.
- Hen keepers are responsible for keeping enclosures in good standing and sanitary conditions to prevent pests and smells.
- Leftover feed and manure must be removed and discarded of regularly to prevent nuisance odours.
- A requirement of the application process is to develop a plan to manage waste and ongoing care and maintenance of the hen enclosure to counteract smells.
- The City will complete an inspection and has the authority to revoke a licence if conditions are not met.
- If a flock is unwanted, a licenced hen keeper must re-home healthy hens or transport them to a local veterinarian to safety euthanize unhealthy hens.
- Hens can flap their wings a few feet in the air and land on lower objects, but they cannot fly far or fly for long distances.
- A six-foot fence is typically enough to keep a hen contained.
- No, roosters are not permitted in the City.
- This varies with hen breeds, but under good conditions a hen can lay four to five eggs per week.
- In the winter months, hens lay less eggs due to shorter daylight hours.
- Hens do not require a rooster to lay eggs.
- Eggs are for the personal use of the homeowner only. Urban hen keeping is considered a hobby and the sale of privately owned hen eggs is against provincial regulations.
- Avian flu is not a major concern within the City as small backyard flocks need to be enclosed and should not be in contact with commercial hen operations where avian flu can spread. Licence holders must practice effective biosecurity measures, which involves the suggested measures be taken to prevent the introduction and spread of disease in a poultry flock.
- Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Airdrie, Grande Prairie, Cold Lake, St Albert, Leduc, Okotoks, Brooks, and Lacombe.
- Hen coops should be cleaned and excess feed removed at least once a week to prevent odour, deter pests and ensure healthy living conditions are maintained.
- Manure must be removed from the coop and discarded in City black waste carts.
- Hen owners should fully disinfecting coops annually.
- A hen owner needs to be 18 years or older to request a hen licence.
- A hen keeping licence is valid until December 31 of the year of issue.
- Hen keepers will need to make themselves available for inspections by the City inspector.
- If Bylaw rules are not followed, participants may receive a violation ticket and in necessary circumstances, the revoking of their hen keeping license may occur.
- If hens and/or enclosures are ordered to be removed, all costs and associated expenditures related to the removal is the responsibility of the licence holder.
Additional resources
Practices to prevent and detect disease in small flocks and pet birds
- Practices to prevent and detect disease in small flocks and pet birds - Government of Canada
- A guide to raising small chicken flocks in Alberta - Alberta Government
- Poultry owner resources - Alberta Government