BUTTE - Some residents and their backyard chickens are looking forward to the passage of an ordinance that is still moving through the process of approval to allow for backyard chickens to be kept in Butte.
"I was expecting the prairie blue bells to be laying blue eggs. It’s seeming like they’re laying brown, but I am still getting one blue egg, and I don’t know who it’s coming from," says Garrity Heier.
Watch: Butte community advances push to change fowl ordinance
Heier owns nine chickens that make up a variety of breeds. Earlier this year, she was told by animal control that her birds were not legal under the current Butte-Silver Bow County ordinance.
Since Spring, Heier has been on a mission to change the law.
"Animal Services has put together a rough draft of what they think would be sensible for a fowl ordinance," says Heier.
The draft ordinance includes changes that would allow for more residents to keep chickens on their property, reducing the size from 20,000 square feet down to 6,000 square feet. It also includes property setbacks for coups and guidance on how to store chicken food to protect it from rodents, but Heier says the ordinance is still a work in progress.
"I am very happy the square footage has dropped 70 percent. I consider that a win. Unfortunately, it’s not enough for a lot of our Uptown houses," says Heier.
Most of the lots in Uptown Butte are around 3,000 square feet.
"There’s still been some... I don’t know. Some upset residents looking to fight for change for that, so we’re asking Animal Services to please reconsider," says Heier.
She is encouraging residents to reach out to Animal Services to push for changes while they can.
"If Animal Services feels like they’re not getting more community involvement, I do believe they’ll go forward with what they have to the county commissioners," says Heier.
