Some Canmore students will learn not to count their chickens before their eggs hatch this fall after elected officials voted to approve a bylaw that allows a chicken coop to be built at a local school.
The educational chicken bylaw was in front of Canmore council on July 5, as an amendment to the municpality’s animal control bylaw, which currently prohibits chickens from being housed within town limits.
Canmore Collegiate High School and the Waldorf-inspired Alpenglow School requested council consider changing the bylaw so a chicken enclosure could be constructed at the school this fall.
While council voted to support the educational chicken program, Councillor Ed Russell was not convinced it would be as easy as expected.
“It is a big undertaking,” Russell said. “Without being disrespectful to our school staff, it is a tough job and I am not sure I want to support that.”
Representatives from the high school and Alpenglow presented the proposal to council in May and manager of protective services Greg Burt said administration followed up the request by meeting with the various agencies involved in setting up a chicken coop to produce eggs.
He said those meetings included Alberta Health Services, Wildsmart, Fish and Wildlife and Alberta Agriculture, to address potential issues associated with animal attractants, odour, noise, disease transmission and food safety.
“We are satisfied with the followup,” Burt said. “I really think it is an interesting proposal and staff spent time reaching out to the appropriate agencies to reduce the risk.”
The approved bylaw allows the program to be established with 12 hens to be kept in the atrium of the high school in an enclosed structure. It requires Canadian Rockies Public Schools to report back on the program at the end of the school year and there is the ability for council to revoke permission as well.
In addition to the bylaw, administration drafted regulations for staff at the school to follow including monitoring the site for wildlife activity and requiring additional safety measures should the chickens become a wildlife attractant.
Burt said by using the enclosed atrium inside the school, the risk of wildlife accessing the chicken coop is very low.
The bylaw does not allow for chickens or any other livestock animal to be raised within the town’s limits.
“This is not a backyard urban chicken proposal, it is for Canmore Collegiate High School educational purposes only,” Burt said.
Coun. Sean Krausert said the regulations included as part of the program gave him the comfort he needed to support the bylaw. However, he urged caution by staff at the school to ensure the chickens do not become a wildlife attractant.
“I really encourage both the program participants and administration to act quickly if there are any concerns whatsoever,” Krausert said.
CCHS principal Chris Rogers spoke about the educational aspects that students would benefit from with the chicken program.
He said the business model being used is a subscription-based program for the eggs that are produced, but the foods program at the school can’t actually cook with the eggs.
“They will be given directly to subscribers and any funds we get will go into the foods program,” Rogers said.
He said the school has partnered with a Cochrane-based chicken farmer to help with any eggs that hatch and produce more chickens, as the school is limited to 12 birds. As well, he said, the farmer would help when the chickens are no longer needed.
“Students are learning about the lifecycle and where food comes from,” he said. “We will dispose of them as per the regulations and we will work with the chicken farmer as to how best go about that.”
