Des Plaines eases limits on backyard chickens
Fresh egg lovers in Des Plaines can celebrate: A pilot program allowing some residents to keep chickens in backyard coops has been made permanent and expanded.
As part of the changes, a cap on the number of permits that can be issued citywide has been eliminated, so virtually anyone living in a single-family home can apply for a permit.
In addition, hen owners can keep six birds instead of the pilot program's four-bird limit.
The city council finalized the changes during its meeting last week without discussion. The council preliminarily approved the plan last month, but a second vote was required.
Interest in backyard chickens has picked up over the last decade or so. Proponents say hens are a source of healthy eggs, provide environmental education and aren't as noisy as roosters, which aren't needed for egg production. Plus, their eggs are an affordable food option.
The pilot program launched in 2020. Thirty permits were issued, and complaints are infrequent, officials have said.
Among the city's rules:
• Permits require a one-time $35 fee.
• Roosters are forbidden.
• Chicken enclosures must be in fenced rear yards and not visible from the street.
• Enclosures must be at least five feet from property lines or other structures.
• Enclosures can't be larger than 100 square feet or more than 8 feet tall.
• Slaughtering chickens is prohibited.
Wheeling, Rolling Meadows, Elgin, Lombard, Wauconda and Batavia are among the other communities that have created regulations for coops.