Residents in the Village of Hussar are now permitted to keep hens and quail within the municipality after village council passed third and final reading of its Urban Hen and Quail bylaw during the regular Thursday, March 9 council meeting.
Council first began considering a bylaw to allow hens within village boundaries after a resident brought forward a proposal at the June 8, 2022 council meeting, shortly after the Town of Strathmore approved its own Backyard Chickens bylaw; first reading of the bylaw was passed later the same month at the June 30 council meeting, with a public hearing and second reading of the bylaw in September 2022.
“This new Bylaw was brought forward for third and final reading and, with only a couple of clerical errors noted to be changed, it was voted on and passed third reading with those amendments,” Hussar Mayor Les Schultz tells the Mail.
The draft bylaw was brought back before council for third reading consideration multiple times since receiving second reading, with amendments recommended following each presentation.
Among the amendments recommended was to include quails as an approved bird, and changes to allow a minimum of two hens or quail and a maximum of eight; roosters are not permitted under the bylaw, and hens or quail acquired must be a minimum of 16 weeks old. The bylaw also states residents will be permitted one coop, which must meet minimum requirements such as the number of nesting boxes, length of perches, and space requirements.
Coops must also comply with existing Land Use Bylaw requirements, such as for setback amounts and lot coverage.
Mayor Schultz says, now the third reading has been approved, interested residents are able to apply to the village to keep hens or quail, “subject to all the requirements of the bylaw.”
