New bill would permit backyard chickens in every Wisconsin community
MADISON - Wisconsinites may soon have permission to raise a flock of chickens in their backyard, if recently proposed legislation advances.
The bill, which is being circulated for co-sponsorship, would require local governments to allow the keeping of up to four chickens, geese, ducks, quail or guinea fowl by property owners.
The bill notes that permits can be required, as can neighbor notifications, a ban on roosters and specifications on where housing for the birds can be kept on the property.
Chickens can already be kept in several Wisconsin communities, including Madison, Milwaukee and Wausau.
Wausau's chicken ordinance was passed in 2017, after months of debate and delays by the Wausau City Council, including some council members asking if approving chickens meant residents would be asking to keep cows in their yards next.
More: What are the chicken laws in Wisconsin?
Bill author wants to empower residents to raise their own food
Bill author Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers, says the state measure is about empowering Wisconsinites to raise their own food if they choose to do so. And, of course, it does not authorize keeping a cow in your backyard. The measure is a partner bill to another piece of legislation that gives Wisconsinites the right to have a garden in their backyard.
Sortwell himself doesn't have chickens, but he does have geese and has raised ducks and guinea fowl in the past.
"It's a bill that says you have the basic human right to raise your own food, and we want to make sure people across Wisconsin actually have that right," he said.
The fowl bill was created in response to a high schooler reaching out to legislators after being told by a local governing board that she wouldn't be permitted to have chickens in the backyard of her mom's house, Sortwell said. According to a local ordinance there weren't enough acres, a rule that was applied to other, larger farm animals as well.
She argued it didn't seem fair she couldn't have chickens, which aren't as large or as messy as other animals.
Milwaukee chickens provide entertainment, fresh eggs for residents
In Milwaukee, residents are able to own up to four chickens, as long as they secure a permit to do so.
And for those who do own chickens, like Missy Zombor of the Enderis Park neighborhood, there are benefits.
"We have three chickens in the backyard and get eggs from them almost every day," she said. "And it's just been a joy for our family."
Zombor and her family have had three hens in their backyard for a little over a year and say they've never had a complaint from neighbors. The family cleans out the coop and the run each day, and the birds for the most part are pretty content, she said. They sometimes let out squawks when laying eggs or warning each other of a stray cat in the backyard, but there hasn't been a single complaint.
"They're more quiet than half the dogs in our neighborhood," she said.
And aside from providing the family with eggs, the chickens have become pets, too.
"I didn't realize how attached I was going to get to them," Zombor said. "They don't particularly like to be held, but we can pet them, get close to them and they're part of the family."
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on X at @SchulteLaura.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: New bill would permit backyard chickens in every Wisconsin community
