Why Elmhurst Woman Wants Backyard Chickens

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst woman on Monday urged the City Council to allow chickens in town.

Taylor Dreher, who lives in the 300 block of River Glen Avenue, noted a council committee discussed the issue earlier this month.

She hit on the usual arguments for allowing chickens such as having a regular supply of farm fresh eggs.

But Dreher also said chickens provided a particular advantage in a wooded neighborhood such as hers – bug control.

Bugs such as flies, gnats and ticks are a regular part of a chicken's diet, she said.

"It's important for us to keep the greenspaces, which always leads to more and more bugs," Dreher said at a council meeting. "That's a big part of why we want to keep chickens ourselves."

She also said chicken manure is "super great" for gardens.

"You're repurposing every part of what chickens can provide for your family," Dreher said.

As for noise, she said chickens make less than dogs. She indicated she was fine if the city banned roosters, which create the most noise.

More than a decade ago, aldermen considered allowing chickens, as more and more towns are doing. But the local effort fizzled out.

Nearly two years ago, aldermen Chris Jensen, Emily Bastedo and Jacob Hill requested the City Council consider the chicken issue.

Last summer, the council's zoning committee decided to send the matter to the public safety committee, which then discussed it in mid-September.

The zoning committee recommended its counterpart look at enclosure requirements, coop setbacks, and rules on selling eggs, breeding and keeping roosters.