ELGIN, Ill. (AP) — A Chicago suburb is welcoming a select group of feathered friends to 15 backyards in a pilot program for keeping chickens.
The Elgin city council approved the one-year pilot allowing up to 15 residents to keep chickens at single-family homes. Elgin will accept license applications for chickens and coops Jan. 1-15.
Permit holders will be allowed to house four hens but no roosters. Coops must be located at least 25 feet from neighbors’ residences and they can’t be visible from the street.
Resident Jaime Yucuis tells the (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald the program is too small. She says her family hopes it will be “one of the lucky 15.”
The newspaper reports at least 14 Chicago suburbs allow backyard chickens. Elgin will review the pilot program after a year.
