Backyard Hens

Read Bylaw No. 2023/004, a Bylaw to regulate the keeping of Hens in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

Apply for your Hen License and pay the non-refundable license fee. Hen License is required for keeping a hen(s) in the RMWB and is valid for one (1) year following the date of approval. Please complete the application form and provide required supporting documents.

Note: The parcel on which the hens will be kept must occupy at least 400 square metres and is either a single detached or semi-detached dwelling. Please review Bylaw No.2023/004 before paying the non-refundable license fee.

Supporting documents required:

• Certificate of Title
  • If you are not the property owner, please provide a copy of the authorization from the registered property owner of the subject property
• Site plan / drawing that outlines the coop location on the subject property, floor area and height
• Confirmation of Hen Keeping training
• Premises Identification Program (PID) number

Backyard Hens Application

Complete a Hen Keeping course that is approved by the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. 

Prior to submitting an application, every hen keeping applicant must notify their adjoining neighbours with a notification letter. Adjoining Neighbour means an owner or occupant of a property that is contiguous to a parcel along a common property line and where the parcel is a corner lot, includes an owner or occupant of a property that is adjacent to the parcel across a rear lane, but not across a street.

In the case where neighbouring properties are apartment buildings or businesses, building managers and business owners are to receive the notification letter. This requirement is a notification to neighbours, not a request for permission.  

• Please print off the required number of copies of neighbour notification letters.
• Please note the date and addresses on copies of the letters that were given out in your application. We do not require that the letters be signed.

TIP: Leave a letter on your Neighbour’s door and take a photo for record keeping.

The RMWB will also send notices to applicant's neighbours and they will have two weeks after receiving the notice to respond to the RMWB with any concerns. Part 5, Section 25 of the Backyard Hens Bylaw states criteria for an appeal.

Apply for your Hen License and pay the non-refundable license fee. Hen License is required for keeping hens in the RMWB and is valid for one (1) year following the date of approval. Please complete the application form and provide required supporting documents.

Supporting documents required:

• Certificate of Title
  • If you are not the property owner, please provide a copy of the authorization from the registered property owner of the subject property
• Site plan / drawing that outlines the coop location on the subject property, floor area and height
• Confirmation of Hen Keeping training
• Premises Identification Program (PID) number

Obtain a Provincial Premise ID (PID). The Province of Alberta requires all owners of poultry (including small urban flocks) to register their flocks into the provincial database and obtain a PID. 

Once license is issued, set up the site in accordance with the submitted site plan Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Bylaw No. 2023/004.

• Approved site must keep a minimum of three hens and shall not exceed six hens.
• Hens must be over 16 weeks of age.
• Roosters are not permitted.
• Each hen must be kept in the coop at all times.
• Hens must be kept secured in the hen house from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.

• The applicant must reside on the parcel where the hens will be kept, has completed a hen training course and will implement biosecurity measure that are adequate to reduce the risk of exposing the hens to infectious disease.
• The parcel on which the hens will be kept occupies at least 400 square metres and is either a single detached or semi-detached dwelling.
• For each hen to be housed in the coop, the hen house has a minimum floor area of 0.37 square metres, outdoor enclosure has a minimum floor area of 0.92 square metres, and the coop contains one nest box and one perch at least 15 centimetres long.
• All hen houses must be located in a rear yard and shall not be located within:
  • 1.0 metre of the side or rear property lines of a parcel, or
  • 3.0 metres of a dwelling.
• The rear yard of a parcel containing a coop must be enclosed by a privacy fence.

• Each hen must be provided with food, water, shelter, light, ventilation, care and opportunities for essential behaviours such as scratching, dust-bathing and roosting necessary to maintain the hen in good health.
• The coop must be maintained in good repair and sanitary condition, free from pests and offensive smells and substances.
• The license holder must construct and maintain the coop to prevent any animal or rodent from harbouring underneath, within, or inside the coop’s perimeter.

• Manure must be stored within a fully enclosed, animal proof container with an air-tight seal.
• The license holder must not store more than three cubic feet of manure on the parcel at any time and must immediately remove all manure that is not intended for use in composting or fertilizing.
• Manure must be disposed of in accordance with Municipal Bylaws.

• A site inspection will be completed to confirm all requirements are met.
• The license holder shall make themselves and the coops available for inspection on reasonable request from the Bylaw Enforcement Officer.

• The license holder must comply with all Provincial regulations around the keeping of hens as outlined by the Animal Health Act.
• The Province of Alberta requires all owners of poultry (including small urban flocks) to register their flocks into the provincial database and obtain a Premise Identification (PID) Number. The PID enables the province to keep track of livestock site locations in case of potential disease outbreak.
• The Province will maintain communication with site owners should any information or incidents occur that would require site owners to take action. Additionally, if any disease outbreaks occur, applicants must immediately notify the RMWB and provide the details of the outbreak and the steps taken to rectify the issue.

The start up fee is $150 with an annual renewal fee of $15 per hen. 

Raising backyard chickens increases the likelihood of wildlife becoming a problem. The issue tends to be with the environment that the chickens are kept. However, with strict biosecurity measures in place the issues are less likely to occur. Applicants are also required to have privacy screening in their backyard as an added measure.

"Privacy fence" means a solid fence with a continuous height of no less than 2.0 meters or the maximum height permitted by Land Use Bylaw, whichever is lesser, that creates a visual barrier, and which conceals view of the enclosed parcel and prevents entry by predators.

Chickens are very clean animals. They will occasionally give themselves "dirt baths" but this is for them to preen their feathers and keep themselves clean and cool. Their droppings usually do not smell. The droppings are easily hosed off and break down into an excellent fertilizer for the lawn. Just like all pets and animals, chickens need responsible owners to keep the area tidy and clean out their living space.

The waste is also required to be contained in a sealed, animal proof container which will mitigate any smell.

If your neighbour doesn’t want backyard hens, it doesn’t mean you will not be accepted into the program. Adjacent neighbours may appeal a licence for the following reasons:

• that the keeping of hens on the parcel is likely to have a materially adverse effect on the health of the adjoining neighbour or of a person living in the premises of the adjoining neighbour;
• or the applicant does not meet the requirements of this Bylaw;
• the license holder has, in the opinion of the licensing authority based on reasonable grounds, contravened this Bylaw or the license whether or not the contravention has been prosecuted;
• the licence was issued based on incorrect information or a misrepresentation by the licensee.

Once an application is received, and it has been confirmed that they meet the parameters as outlined in the bylaw, Bylaw Services will be sending out a notification to neighbours who share a common property line with the applicant. Adjoining neighbours may appeal a decision within 14 days of the decision to the Community Standards Appeal Committee.

"Adjoining Neighbour" means an owner or occupant of a property that is contiguous to a parcel along a common property line and where the parcel is a corner lot, includes an owner or occupant of a property that is adjacent to the parcel across a rear lane, but not across a street.

Any breed that can live and thrive in the northern climate will be accepted. 

Disposal will be through regular waste. 

If you no longer want your chickens, there are agencies or farms that you can reach out to re-home your chickens.

You can dispose of chicken manure in a similar way as disposing of cat litter. Double bagging and bringing the waste to the landfill is accepted.

Hens are one of the quietest domestic animals. Hens have about the same decibel level as a human conversation and are much quieter than a dog barking. They cluck softly from time to time and will often cluck to let you know they recently laid an egg, which occurs inside a hen house. Unless they are in danger, they do not squawk. They sleep at night just as people do and are completely quiet from dusk to dawn. Roosters can be quite noisy as this is their role in the flock.

Roosters are unnecessary in the laying process and are unnecessary to raising chickens. Chicken hens will lay eggs with or without a rooster. The only difference is that with a rooster, the eggs may be fertilized. Without a rooster they are not.

Roosters are not allowed under this program.

A resident will need to reside within a single detached dwelling or semi-detached dwelling, often referred to as duplexes. The lot will also need to be at least 400 sq. meters. Applicants are encouraged to review Bylaw No. 2023/004 Backyard Hen Bylaw before applying to ensure they meet the necessary requirements.

Research indicates that there are hen welfare concerns when there is only a single hen. The minimum of three promotes hen well being

The sale of eggs is not permitted under this bylaw. Alberta Health Services also recommends limiting the distribution of hen by-products and there are regulations in place to prevent this from occurring. Food regulation (31/2006) prevents the sale of chicken and/or eggs and the use of chicken and/or eggs to prepare foods for the public.

No, regardless of lot size the minimum number of hens allowed is three and the maximum is six.

All hen owners are required to obtain a Premise Identification Number (PID) through Alberta Agriculture. This number tracks all properties that have birds and will alert owners in the event of an outbreak. They will advise on the steps to take in the event of an outbreak.

Yes. Salmonella and Campylobacter are the two most common communicable bacterial diseases. Proper biosecurity measures will help prevent the spread of diseases. This topic will be discussed in the mandatory backyard chicken courses.