No complaints over chicken bylaw in Fort Frances, Ont.

Fort Frances residents are on board with backyard chickens.

The northwestern Ontario town passed a bylaw allowing residents to raise backyard chickens with some restrictions earlier this month.

And so far, there have been no complains, said Fort Frances bylaw enforcement officer Patrick Briere.

"We've always had chickens in town," he said. "We've just put some regulations in place to help with any noise issues, or any feces, or any slaughtering."

"We're just trying to make sure that residents aren't going outside of those boundaries."

Some restrictions apply

The bylaw allows backyard chickens in Fort Frances, with a few conditions.

No roosters will be allowed, although anyone who currently has a rooster will be allowed to keep it, although they won't be allowed to bring in more roosters, Briere said.

"If the rooster passes ... they won't be able to replace that rooster," Brieresaid.

With regard to chickens, there are several restrictions in place, he said.

There are rules governingcoop size and location, andfood and manure storage. No slaughtering of chickens is allowed, and eggs can't be sold.

The municipality has been working on the backyard chicken bylaw since May, and it was passed on Sept. 12.

No complaints about backyard chickens were received during the development process, nor have there been any since the bylaw was passed, Briere said.

The City of Thunder Bay was considering a similar bylaw, which would have allowed backyard chickens with some restrictions in the city.

• Thunder Bay city council rejects backyard chickens

The proposed Thunder Bay bylaw was quashed at Thunder Bay City Council's July 26 meeting by a vote of 8-4.