Yorkville OKs domestic chickens for some single-family residences

YORKVILLE – Some Yorkville single-family residences in certain zoning districts will be allowed to keep domesticated chickens.

The Yorkville City Council on Sept. 27 approved an ordinance permitting up to six hens per household in a backyard coup on a single-family lot of at least 11,000 square feet.

Roosters are prohibited under the ordinance, as is slaughtering. There are additional requirements and restrictions.

Slightly more than 5,000 single-family residences would qualify under the ordinance.

Nearly 3,000 such home sites would be unable to keep chickens, not because of the ordinance but under homeowner association covenants specifically prohibiting the foul.

The ordinance requires that hens be provided with a covered inside enclosure up to 144 square feet and an adjacent outside fenced area.

The outside area must be no less than 32 square feet. Electric service to enclosures may not be provided by an extension cord.

A four-foot-tall privacy or solid yard fence is required along the perimeter of the lot.

The ordinance further requires a covered, predator-proof coop in the back or side yard, with a minimum of two-square-feet per chicken.

There are also sanitary regulations for maintaining the coops and a requirement for keeping chicken feed in rodent-proof containers.