Chicken ordinance heads to Village Board

An ordinance to allow Village of Belgium residents, at least ones with designated housing requirements, to keep a quartet of chickens is flying off to the Village Board for approval.

The Public Safety Committee last week unanimously agreed to forward the ordinance to the board, which meets on Monday, Oct. 13.

Chickens, according to the ordinance developed by Village Treasurer Vickie Boehnlein based on past discussions and the Village of Fredonia’s permit, would be allowed in a pen in the backyard of single-family residential dwellings. Duplexes, condos and multifamily residences would not be allowed to have the birds.

In addition to four adult chickens, chicks would be allowed to be kept for three weeks before owners would have to return to the four-bird requirement.

An annual permit would be required. The initial permit would cost $50 and renewals would be $35 with permits running from June 1 to May 31 each year. Late fees to renew would apply.

An inspection by the village marshal would be required, and applicants must register with the State Department of Agriculture or prove why they don’t have to, Boehnlein said. The marshal would be able to issue compliance orders and citations. Anyone with three violations would lose their ability to have chickens.

Coops and pens would have to be at least 15 feet from lot lines, must be in the backyard and at least 25 feet from any residence. They would have to be closer to the chicken owners’ residence than that of any neighbor.

One nesting box of at least three square feet would be required per chicken and must be connected to the pen, which would have to allow at least eight square feet per chicken.

Roosters and male chickens older than 10 weeks are not allowed.

“I’m assuming that’s the age in which they might start squawking,” Boehnlein said.

Chickens would have to have access to feed and water at all times, and food would have to be protected from predators.

Eggs would not be allowed to be sold, and chickens would not be allowed to be slaughtered on site.

If a chicken has a contagious disease, the owners would have to notify the village.

Coops and pens would have to be “kept reasonably free of chicken-produced substances,” Boehnlein said, which would include manure, so the air doesn’t become noxious or create breeding conditions for mosquitoes and attract rodents.

Waste would have to be disposed of adequately, not create a public nuisance and not deposited at the village’s recycling center.

Composting would have to be done in an enclosed container.

The request to own chickens was brought to the Village Board in spring by Megan Phillips, who filed the request via a petition on change.org. Phillips said her family grows as much non-genetically modified food as possible.