Should backyard chickens be permitted in Puslinch?

Hamilton Spectator

05-05-2025

PUSLINCH – A local woman is asking the township to reconsider permitting backyard chickens and other fowl in residential areas.
Living on a woodsy property near Puslinch Lake, resident Virtue Peake said she was shocked when the township's bylaw officer knocked on her door last week and informed her that a neighbour complained about her backyard chickens and she would need to get rid of them or face fines of up to $25,000.
While backyard chickens are permitted on some residential properties in Guelph/Eramosa and the City of Guelph, Puslinch's zoning bylaw currently only permits chickens in agriculturally zoned areas; Peake's property is zoned resort residential.
'I was blown away. I had no idea we were breaking a rule in the first place,' said Peake. 'I feel like we're in the country, this is Puslinch ... you see eggs for sale everywhere, so in my head, I'm like okay, this is awesome, everyone has chickens.'
Peake has kept chickens: 10 hens, a rooster, and a duck, in her backyard for at least a decade.
Moving to the Puslinch Lake area in 2011, Peake said chickens were intended to be a fun hobby and felt like a natural next step for their family, especially now that they were living in a more rural area.
Her sons help take care of the chickens, collecting eggs with their friends, and she's even sold fresh eggs to several neighbours, many of whom asked her to keep up the supply.
In Peake's mind, agricultural zoning refers to someone who owns a farm with cows and other livestock, not a couple of chickens and a duck, although she understands there are concerns about lake contamination and scaring off tourists visiting the lake.
'We had lived in Guelph for so long in a little townhouse complex, coming out here was like coming to a little paradise,' said Peake. 'I just pictured chickens as a part of what we wanted to do in the country. We really wanted to have that country life and some fresh eggs.'
Searching for a path forward, Peake contacted Van Harten Surveying and was informed she could apply for a zoning change, which costs up to $10,000, or a minor variance, which costs upwards of thousands of dollars and still might not be approved.
If she keeps the chickens, Peake risks getting fined up to $25,000 for her first conviction and up to $10,000 a day for subsequent convictions, which Peake called 'crazy.'
'I've really enjoyed this, but there are just so many other stresses in our lives that I can't fight it,' said Peake. 'If, down the road, we can get this changed, then we'll get chickens again, but ... if it's upsetting someone that bad, I don't want to start a feud with my new neighbours.'
Given just over a month to re-home her chickens, Peake said her brother is currently upgrading his existing coop in Arkell to take most, if not all, of Peake's fowl.
She's also received over 100 supportive Facebook comments, with several people offering to take them if the current plan doesn't work, which she said has provided her 'great comfort.'
Even still, Peake is hopeful the bylaw might change and she can have her chickens again.
'I'm not going to focus on the one person who doesn't think this is a good idea, I'm just going to remember that 99 per cent of Puslinch is amazing and supportive,' said Peake. 'Who knows? Maybe in the future it will change; that would be amazing. It sounds like there are a lot of people who want to see that change.'
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program.