Eau Claire Reconsiders Permitting Chickens

Written By: Travis Buhler  |  Posted: Friday, July 22nd, 2011

            The City of Eau Claire has not allowed property owners to keep chickens since 1992.  Last year, City Council members, along with many "Urban Homesteaders" sought to lift that ban, but were defeated. Now Councilman Andrew Werthmann and newly appointed Councilwoman, Kathy Mitchell, have proposed a temporary two year trial period allowing up to twenty residents to maintain up to six hens to show those concerned that keeping hens will not fill Eau Claire with "chicken doo-doo on their porches and on their lawns."

            According to material provided by the Eau Claire Leaders for Urban Chicken Keeping (ECLUCK), more than 500 communities in the U.S. allow chickens within city limits.  They also cite history and tradition as a reason to allow chickens, "For thousands of years, chickens, like dogs and cats, have lived alongside people in backyards large and small, and in large cities and in small towns."  They also give many reasons why chickens are less of a bother to neighbors than dogs, which are currently allowed in the city.

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