Backyard Chickens Back on Radnor’s Agenda

Radnor Township’s Board of Health has made recommendations for a one-year pilot program that would allow residents to have “backyard” chickens on their properties.

Some of a board subcommittee’s recommendations include allowing no more than three hens on a property and no roosters, and requiring that they are kept in secure enclosures at least 20 feet from neighboring properties, Board of Health member David Humphrey said at a meeting Monday.

They also suggested that manure be deposited in sealed garbage bags and not be used for compost.

Last year, Garrett Hill resident Sara Pilling started a petition to ask that Radnor revise or replace its existing code that only allows hatcheries on 10 acres in an agricultural area to allow, with restrictions, a coop as an accessory use in all residential zones.

Having home chickens can actually save the township money, Pilling told Radnor Patch. Watch a television interview with Pilling on backyard chickens.

Chicken waste helps compost piles break down faster, which might convince more people to have compost piles, which mean less food in the trash (and chickens also eat fruit and vegetable scraps). Less trash means a reduction in the township’s tipping fee, she said.

Chickens also love insects and ticks, which is another positive, Pilling said.

Locally and across the country, municipalities and cities have changed their ordinances to allow a limited number of chickens as backyard chickens.

“This obviously will have to be discussed by the Planning Commission,” Radnor Commissioners John Nagle told the Board of Health Monday. “This is a really positive first step.”

Radnor’s health inspector Larry Taltoan said that any permits for backyard chickens should have a renewal period, and should come with regular inspections and unannounced inspections.