Things are looking better for chickens in Gatineau Quebec

[legojenn]

Last year, I was turned down for a permit to have urban chickens because my lot was too small. It seems that the city found the pilot program to be successful and is now looking at reducing the threshold for birds. I may get my birds afterall. Other salient points in the article include:

- There were 17 complaints and half were unfounded complaints that neighbours did not have permits for the birds/bees;
- one complaint that chickens were a nuisance; and
- four complaints that chickens were running free.

Article in French: https://www.ledroit.com/actualites/...QRUW-LYTBJ7Vkb-ZV9PZ7x01KnJ_yJ4r4PJQe-AuHXiD8

 

[N F C]

I hope you can get a backyard flock soon...good luck!

 

[Hardknockshomestead]

Yes, Good luck! Keeping chickens is good for your health!

 

[Ladybird CA]

I am actually looking for a home at meets the required 450m2 for the 3 hens allowed rule.

What is confusing is the dimensions and shopping for a coop.

kinda embarrassing because I tutored math but cannot figure this out

I've been converting between m2 and inches and cannot figure out if a coop/run with these dimensions fit the criteria: 40'' H x 40'' W x 36'' D.

I know the height does because the limit height is 2.5 m and 40 in = 1 m

For 3 hens the run has to be 2.76 m2...2.76m2 is 4278 in2..but it is 36in deep which I guess is 1296 if squared...so that is too small right?

sigh..this coop is supposed to fit 4 hens https://www.wayfair.ca/pet/pdp/neoc...th-roosting-bar-and-chicken-run-nmpc1001.html

Anyone who likes math know if I am doing the math right? I probably shouldnt be doing this with a 1 yr old sleeping on my shoulder and haven't had lunch, I might try to calculate it later or start a separate thread

 

[legojenn]

I think that you may be over-analysing. The rules look to be based on converting English units to metric units. Break the square metres down to square feet. It might be easier, but your measurements using inches look accurate.

0.37 square metres is 4 square feet. So you need 12 square feet of shelter for three chickens. That's like 4x3. A lot of prepackaged coops will meet that requirement, but you could probably build something better for less money with a circular saw, drill, screws, hinges, hasps, 2x4s and some precut pieces of plywood.

For the run, 0.92 square metres is 10 square feet. So you need a minimum of 30 square feet of shelter for three chickens. 4x8 is 32 square feet, 6x6 is 36. That is tiny. The max is 10 square metres which equates to 108 square feet, so you are looking at a maximum of 10x11 to max out the run. That's still small. 8x8x8 would be relatively easy to build because lumber comes in 8 foot lengths and you can get 4 foot wide mesh.

If you are shopping for a place to live, I would suggest that you consider a community in les Collines-de-l'Outaouais. I have a friend in Val-des-Monts. They have a limit of 5 on property not zoned for agriculture. There is no registration. She has 16 and has had no issues. I built her two coops that I call Borg cubes. One is 6x6 with a 12x8 run for the adults and one is 4x4 with a 4x4 run for the kids. She free ranges them when she's home. They all managed the winter well. If my house wasn't nearly paid off and I wasn't so attached to my neighbourhood, I'd move a few kilometres west to Pontiac or north to Chelsea.

Val-des-Monts might be a long commute, but I assume that rules in Cantley and Chelsea are similar to VdM.

 

[Ladybird CA]

I think that you may be over-analysing. The rules look to be based on converting English units to metric units. Break the square metres down to square feet. It might be easier, but your measurements using inches look accurate.

0.37 square metres is 4 square feet. So you need 12 square feet of shelter for three chickens. That's like 4x3. A lot of prepackaged coops will meet that requirement, but you could probably build something better for less money with a circular saw, drill, screws, hinges, hasps, 2x4s and some precut pieces of plywood.

For the run, 0.92 square metres is 10 square feet. So you need a minimum of 30 square feet of shelter for three chickens. 4x8 is 32 square feet, 6x6 is 36. That is tiny. The max is 10 square metres which equates to 108 square feet, so you are looking at a maximum of 10x11 to max out the run. That's still small. 8x8x8 would be relatively easy to build because lumber comes in 8 foot lengths and you can get 4 foot wide mesh.

If you are shopping for a place to live, I would suggest that you consider a community in les Collines-de-l'Outaouais. I have a friend in Val-des-Monts. They have a limit of 5 on property not zoned for agriculture. There is no registration. She has 16 and has had no issues. I built her two coops that I call Borg cubes. One is 6x6 with a 12x8 run for the adults and one is 4x4 with a 4x4 run for the kids. She free ranges them when she's home. They all managed the winter well. If my house wasn't nearly paid off and I wasn't so attached to my neighbourhood, I'd move a few kilometres west to Pontiac or north to Chelsea.

Val-des-Monts might be a long commute, but I assume that rules in Cantley and Chelsea are similar to VdM.

Thank you! I would love a place that is at least 8093m2 or 2 acres so that I can have bunch of chickens but DH won't get an acreage. We're pretty much non-handy type city folk- atleast he thinks he is so he is a bit scared to buy a house much less one in the country.

I saw a few places in Val-des-monts and I even tried convincing him to let me buy the $47,000 one using my own money as down payment and that did not go well lol...I am guessing that one is burned down or something but I wouldn't care, just need a place that has water so I can have coops around the property even if I have to drive every day or every other day to take care of them. He pretty much says I just have to wait until I go back to work and save for a few years because he won't support the idea of a high maintenance country home.

So I am hoping we do get to find a place that I can at least have 3 hens. There are 2 that we may be seeing this weekend but he is actually thinking of a place closer to his work in Hull, where all the properties are pretty much all under 450m2 of land

Do you know if we only have only until March 15 to apply for the permit, and if we miss that deadline we need to wait until the following year to apply again?

They mention 3rd party liability insurance, do you know if that is another word for home owner's insurance?

 

[legojenn]

Supposedly the city voted on loosening rules last week. It would be nice if there was some info published on whether the amendment to the bylaw passed. Supposedly, the limit on number of birds will be increased to five from three and minimum lot size will be reduced to 350 square metres from 500.

My backyard is still under 3 feet of snow, but I want a coop ready by Easter if possible. I want some eggs to bribe nosy neighbours ... just in case.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/urban-chicken-bees-gatineau-1.5057625

 

[legojenn]

I applied for my licence Tuesday, received it today. I have a month to build a coop and have it inspected. I wanted to have the coop ready by Easter, but it has been a rainy muddy mess and not conducive to construction. I am fortunate that I am a few blocks from the water so I am not facing the same issues that some of my neighbours have had to deal with. Hopefully by next weekend, we'll have a run built and after that a coop delivered.