If you’ve always wanted to grow chickens in your backyard, Oklahoma City may soon allow you to do so.
At the moment, residents of Oklahoma City are prohibited from keeping backyard chickens unless they possess at least one acre of property.
But that may all soon change, as a new plan would enable more households on smaller properties to rear the birds.
The Oklahoma Municipal Council passed a plan on Tuesday that would enable city residents to grow chickens inside city boundaries.
Officials said there will be limits on how many hens you can keep, and roosters will remain illegal. Residents will also be prohibited from slaughtering chickens on their premises.
According to Councilor JoBeth Hamon (Ward 6), she has had frequent requests about when the Council would take up the issue again ever since she was elected. In previous years, there have been cycles of interest, with proponents and opponents discussing the matter at City Council meetings.
During the epidemic, when more people were at home all day and rising worries about the food supply started to develop, Hamon claimed there was a “surge in interest.”
“People are really passionate on both sides of the issue,” said Hamon. “And so I’m hoping that the way that we’ve written it can help maybe allay concerns.”
Hamon said that the suggested changes were designed to ensure that animals are well-cared for and that they are not allowed to wander freely in the area.
Get more coverage of this story from Oklahoma’s News 4.
