http://www.vancouversun.com/Vancouver+chicken+registry+lays/3247712/stor...
VANCOUVER -- People are flocking to classes in backyard hens care in Vancouver, but nearly all of the new coops remain quietly covert.
Has the city's chicken registry laid an egg? Only seven people have applied to register their backyard flocks as required under a June bylaw amendment, though many times that number have acquired laying hens and sought instruction on their care in the past couple of months.
"A lot of the people who come to my course have just got chickens in the past week or over the past two months and they want to know if they are doing it properly," said Southland Farms' Jordan Maynard, who teaches Village Vancouver's travelling workshop, Backyard Chickens 101.
"There was so much media about this last year that a lot of people just assumed it was legal and went and got chickens," said Maynard.
Fourteen-year-old Raven Murray was among those who "jumped the gun," installing four laying hens in her Dunbar yard when council floated the idea of allowing backyard coops last year. Her father Bob Murray, a one-time hobby farmer, built the coop based on the city's proposed guidelines.
Raven is in the process of filling out an application to register her four birds.
"I love them," she said. "They are like pets to me."
Backyard Chickens 101 has been held in neighbourhoods all over the city and new classes are still being added as demand grows. About 100 people took the course last year, about 50 so far this year, and about half of those are people who have already installed a coop and are keeping chickens, said organizer Ross Moster.
About 25 people have joined the Village Vancouver's Coop Co-op, which helps chicken keepers network and share knowledge and resources. Moster estimates the number of people in Vancouver who already have chickens at about 200 and growing.
"A lot of people are just wary of city hall and don't want their chickens to be known," said Maynard, who opines there may be up to 1,000 chickens in the city already. "But a lot of people are pretty open about it and say they don't mind registering."
Maynard was surprised that so few people had registered their flocks, saying that the city needs to make registration easier. According to the city's website, chicken owners must download the form from the city's website, print it, fill it out and deliver it in person to the Animal Control office.
"It's harder than it should be right now," said Maynard.
An online application form is being developed for release this month according to Sarah Hicks, manager of Vancouver's Animal Control Branch, who added that the process can also be completed by mail and fax.
Before council floated the idea of allowing backyard chickens two years ago, the branch took in only one abandoned bird per year. "We have taken in four so far this year," Hicks said. The branch has also investigated five chicken-related complaints this year. No birds have been removed from their owners.
Hicks said people started acquiring chickens before the city was ready to take registrations and suspects many more applications will come in once the apparatus for the free registration is fully functional.
Meanwhile, the trend to backyard agriculture continues to gain traction.
Maynard is embarking this week on a series of eight weeklong Young Farmers summer camps at Southlands Farms for children six to 12 years old, who are interested in agriculture. About 120 children will attend eight sessions this summer.
"Most of the kids say they are interested in animal care," said Maynard. "They are coming down to learn about chickens and goats and horses."
Read The Green Man Blog at vancouversun.com/randyshore
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/Vancouver+chicken+registry+lays/3247712/stor...