Backyard hens for low-income families
Veith House offering program this spring to set up households with egg layers
It’s the difference between picking up some eggs at a food bank or popping out to the backyard to get the makings for breakfast.
A new program is hatching at north-end Halifax’s Veith House this spring that aims to set up 15 low-income families with hens of their own.
“It increases dignity in accessing food,” said Sara Burgess, executive director of Veith House. “If people are caring for their own hens producing their food, that’s a different experience than going to the food bank or other organization to access that protein source.”
With a grant from Feed Nova Scotia, this spring, staff at Veith House will set up 15 small coops with two chickens for families who could use the help.
“We want to be able to get them into neighbourhoods and families who are lowerincome, ideally who might be facing other barriers,” said Lily Levy, urban farm co-ordinator. “It’s food security but it’s also a hobby activity and it’s something that people like to do. It’s not that it’s too expensive but there are hurdles.”
THE CHICKEN EXPERIENCE AT VEITH HOUSE
Hens first arrived at this northend community hub in the summer of 2021. That same year, the rules for urban hens were opened wide throughout HRM.
Through Hire a Hen, based out of Springfield, hens were introduced to Veith House’s garden but the infrastructure wasn’t right and the birds escaped frequently.
Burgess said they learned that if they were going to have hens they would need “a real plan and solid infrastructure.”
They received an innovation grant worth just under $30,000 from Feed Nova Scotia for two phases of their chicken plan. They also received $6,300 from HRM'S district eight participatory budget. The first phase involved building a proper yearround coop on the Veith House property to house nine hens of various heritage breeds.
They’ve also hosted several workshops to educate new chicken keepers.
“It’s just sort of an introductory 101 where (the instructor) talks about how to care for birds, how to set up their space, and everybody gets a sense of how to examine them and check for health and wellness,” said Levy.
And the eggs from the Veith House hens? They’re used for baking muffins which are distributed at St. Joseph’s-alexander Mckay and Joseph Howe Elementary schools.
Burgess said she hopes that their chicken program could be replicated elsewhere and that people can come to them with questions for setting up backyard coops.
“We definitely learned a lot in the past few months and I hope that as keeping urban hens grows in Halifax, that we can really be a source of education and knowledge for people,” Burgess said.
PHASE TWO
The second phase is to purchase mini-coops from Hire a Hen to distribute to food insecure families in HRM. Burgess said the grant will cover all the coops and the hens, as well as shavings and food for half of those coops for a year. They don’t have families in place yet but Levy said they expect a healthy interest because there was an encouraging response when they called out for volunteers to help care for the Veith House chickens (at just under 20).
Burgess said they are working on their criteria for applicants ahead of the spring rollout. Applicants can email urbanfarm@ veithhouse.ns.ca.
Sue Kelleher, director of innovation and learning at Feed Nova Scotia said they set up the innovation grant last year and funded 14 projects — 12 of them are in HRM. The second round of funding is now open for applications.
“The hen project, to us, was just super neat — the idea of a community-based organization with strong ties to local community starting off with a chicken coop within the organization and learning how to take care of chickens and also producing eggs,” Kelleher said, adding beyond food security, there is a community-building element to this project.
“We’re tracking along as they’re moving their cool project forward.”
WHY IT'S IMPORTANT
It might seem like a lot of effort for a regular supply of fresh eggs, but Levy said there are many benefits to having backyard chickens.
“It’s really nutritionally-dense food for people to have access to producing on their own and the input and output compared to gardening, it is more appealing. I also think it’s really valuable to have connections to your food sources and people are able to relate more strongly to animals than plants. It gives that emotional connection to the source,” Levy said.
“Our whole mission here is increasing food sovereignty and security so I think it’s very valuable in that way. It’s not just giving people access but access to the means to produce.”
There’s also joy to be found just having chickens around, said Levy.
“It’s amazing. All the volunteers say the same thing, the time they spend with them in the morning is so soothing watching them do their thing.”
In January, HRM staff provided council with a report two years after making changes to by-laws for “egglaying fowl accessory to a residential use.”
As of Sept. 8, 2023, staff reported that six property owners (with 30 hens) had volunteered to register but most chose not to register.
As for complaints from residents, most involved hens roaming at large, animal attacks (mostly by dogs), and rodents. There were also some complaints about “illegal fowl” which was usually roosters making a racket and wandering around.
Some of the other innovative projects in HRM that received innovation funding from Feed Nova Scotia last year include:
• North Grove to engage “grey zone” youth (aged 12-15) who are often overlooked in skills development programming to develop an intergenerational food program.
• Adsum for Women and Children to offer people staying at The Bridge shelter in Dartmouth a chance to eat out at local restaurants.
• Common Roots Urban Farm to offer Cajas (high-yield growing containers) to newcomers and African Nova Scotians who are on the waitlist for a community garden plot.
• Cobequid Food Security Network to develop a program to drop off frozen food to community fridges.
• East Preston Daycare Centre to support their cooking and food box program.