Shelburne seeks resident input on backyard hen pilot program
Shelburne opened a 20-day survey on backyard hens, and only responses with valid local postal codes will count before council weighs a pilot.
The Town of Shelburne opened a backyard hen survey on June 29, giving residents until July 19 to weigh in on whether a limited pilot should move ahead. Only responses with valid Shelburne postal codes will be included in the final review.
The survey will gather support or opposition, interest in keeping hens, thoughts on possible rules and limits, expected benefits and concerns, neighborhood impacts, and any other comments that could shape a pilot if council decides to proceed. Shelburne framed the idea as a limited Backyard Hen Pilot Program, not a permanent bylaw change.
The discussion reached council as a communication item on May 25 through a citizen proposal titled Citizen Proposal - Shelburne Backyard Hen Pilot Program. Shelburne has 8,989 residents spread across 5.71 square kilometres.
Council is still considering how many hens might be allowed, whether roosters would be banned, what coop and setback rules would apply, how complaints would be handled, and whether any pilot would be limited to certain property types. Many municipalities enforce animal-control bylaws on a complaint basis, which is where backyard hen disputes often land when noise, odour, sanitation or fencing become an issue.
East Gwillimbury launched a 24-month pilot on March 1, 2024, allowed up to four hens, and then approved permanent backyard hens on March 24, 2026 subject to a one-time licence. Chatham-Kent approved a two-year pilot on November 4, 2024 for Village Residential and Rural Residential properties outside Erieau, with a 10-hen cap, no roosters, and permit fees of $400 for the initial permit and $125 for renewal. Toronto’s UrbanHensTO program started on March 2, 2018 with up to four hens, and an April 12, 2023 report found it had not created significant problems but still recommended pausing any expansion because of administrative costs, limited uptake, nuisance concerns and avian influenza risk.
Champlain Township’s 2023 survey drew 132 English responses and 55 French responses, and more than half supported backyard hens before council approved a two-year pilot.
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