A presentation on efforts by the A Few Hens group to get an ordinance passed that would allow DeKalb residents to raise hens for eggs in city backyards will be held this Thursday, December 15th at 7pm at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of DeKalb, 158 N. Fourth St. in DeKalb.
A small presentation will be provided about the efforts to pass an ordinance that would allow a small number of hens for raising eggs in DeKalb backyards. Following the examples of other towns recently changing their ordinances, the group is requesting an amendment be made in DeKalb to allow folks with suitable backyards to raise small numbers of hens for eggs.
“This meeting is for those interested in a fun and economical way to raise your own food and have a say in how your food is produced.” Said Hannah Dwyer, organizer of the event. “With food recalls and inflation raising the cost of groceries, we feel giving people the option to produce some of their own food is a reasonable and responsible thing to do.” Dwyer added.
The Few Hens group will provide a lot of information to take home, a chance to have any questions answered, and refreshments. Come ask questions and learn why a few hens in the back yard can be a rewarding experience. For those who are interested in Just A Few Hens, click here to visit their facebook page. For more information, email Hannah Dwyer at hollyhousekitchen@yahoo.com.
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5 Comments


Hannah, thanks for your response and for doing what you’re doing and how you’re doing it. 1-3 complaints annually are probably a lot fewer than barking dogs! That’s a good thing. I like the registration part as it should help educate new chicken owners as to their responsibilities and compatibilities.
Best wishes for you.

Thanks! I don’t know if my neighborhood is any indication, but there were two dogs loose this afternoon alone, not considering some of the noisier dogs on the block! I have a dog, and we work really hard to make sure she doesn’t infringe on our neighbor’s enjoyment of their property, but I know the work I’d have to do the same for hens would be much less considering they’re quieter, they produce less waste, and they pose no safety risk. If a hen hops her fence you don’t have to worry about her biting a neighbor kid or going after the neighbor’s cat!
I’m trying to strike a balance between making this accessible to people who would really use this and making sure the regulations ensure everyone is happy. You can’t please everyone all the time, but I’m doing my best 🙂
I have two friends who have worked on farms who are willing to teach folks how to raise hens for free, as well as the University of Illinois extension DeKalb County master gardener’s, who contacted me to let me know they offer poultry education for a very modest cost. If this gets passed Just A Few Hens is going to continue on in a more of an educational direction, helping folks who want to get started do so on the right foot.
I appreciate your support!

In a better setting something like this wouldn’t need a law created to permit it or the staff required to regulate it. Neighbors should be neighborly and a consensus built among them for neighborly concerns. That requires 1) neighbors being neighborly and 2) more consideration for compatible neighborhoods criteria in buying or renting your home.
I’d rather shoot for Utopia than Naperville.
Of course responsible people should raise chickens if they so desire. But right now we’re closer to Naperville, so… how quickly can chickens be humanely removed from irresponsible owners so the neighbors are treated fairly, too?
If a law is to be created to permit chicken raisers then its language must include methods of funding for enforcement of the included necessary regulations to protect the rights of all. :::roll

Hi Mac-
I love your line: “I’d rather shoot for Utopia than Naperville.”.
When I was a kid my family often visited a little town surrounded by farms, called Naperville. On Sunday afternoons, we’d go for horse rides at a farm my uncle owned outside town. We’d also usually manage to make a stop at the little popcorn shop on Washington Street downtown for some caramel corn. A few years later, we visited Prince Castle alongside the muddy DuPage river (also on Washington, downtown) for ice cream. Rarely, we swam at the “beach” made from an old quarry.
In those days, to a little kid brought up in the more urbane (lol!) Downers Grove, Naperville was much like Utopia.
But progress waits for no one, and the charm was slowly destroyed over the years. So its been hard to watch the very same thing happen to DeKalb over the last decade or two.
As recently as the late seventies, when I was occasionally a commuting student at NIU, the area still had its charm. Since the mid-nineties, when we purchased real estate west of DeKalb, the decline has steepened.
It would be great if town fathers could envision your concept-
Shoot for Utopia, not Naperville.
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Mac,
In the proposal there are plans in place to help offset possible costs, mostly the registration fee for the coop and a very small registration fee for hens. I called around the state to different code encorcement officials to see if those who had chickens had significant issues with non compliance, and none reported any. I use Naperville as an example because of it’s proximity to us, and it’s size. They get an average of 1-3 complaints annually and most of the time it’s because folks don’t realize hens are legal, and the hen owners are usually found in compliance in regards to noise and smell. Our proposal is actually much more strict than Naperville’s with a set limit of hens, and the banning of roosters.