Kewaskum Backyard Chickens

Many urban areas are allowing residents to own backyard chickens including Campbellsport, Eau Claire, Appleton, Wausau, Pewaukee, Bayview, Fox Point, Mequon, Milwaukee, Muskego, New Berlin, Racine, River Hills, Sturtevant, and Wauwatosa. Currently, the Village of Kewaskum does not allow residents to have backyard chickens (i.e. a small number of hens).

We believe that small-scale chicken keeping is a healthy, economical and sustainable way to feed and enrich our families and our community. Besides making great pets, hens provide us with fresh eggs and encourage local sustainable living. The ability to raise chickens offers educational opportunities for our children.

Chickens serve as a natural alternative to pesticides by eating bugs and insects, including fleas and disease-spreading ticks. Chickens also eat weeds and chicken manure serves as an excellent fertilizer for lawns and gardens. Backyard chickens provide many benefits, which is why many towns and cities across the country now permit their residents to raise backyard chickens.

The two most common concerns residents have regarding urban chickens are noise and smell.

Hens are very quiet animals. Compared to a dog's bark which can reach over 90 decibels, chickens can hardly be called a noisy animal. The best way to keep your hens content (and reduce any noises of irritation!) is to keep them in the perfect chicken house.

As for the smell, it is true that any animal leaves behind waste. Just as dog owners are expected to clean up their pet's waste, so should chicken owners. In fact, the very same ordinances that allow for chickens in our surrounding communities require chickens to be kept in sanitary conditions just as other pet owners are expected to do.