SPARTA, Mich. — Sparta residents who keep backyard chickens may soon be allowed to double the size of their flocks under a proposed change to the village's existing ordinance.
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The village has permitted small backyard chicken flocks for the past six years. The proposed amendment would allow residents with adequately sized lots to keep up to 12 hens — up from the current limit of six — provided they have the correct size coop, sufficient space, and have demonstrated a year of compliance with the existing ordinance.
Village Manager Jim Lower said the expansion reflects the program's success.
"So, if you have an adequate-sized lot, you can go from six to 12 chickens, provided you have, you know, of course, the correct size coop and the right space. And you have to have demonstrated a year of compliance," Lower said.
Lower added that the village makes a point of staying responsive to what residents want.
"We have a tendency to try new things, think outside the box, and try to meet our residents where they're at and where they want to go," he said.
Jessica Dull, a Sparta resident who currently keeps five chickens, said her family had been interested in raising them for years before the ordinance made it possible.
"We had always wanted chickens since we moved here about 10 years ago, and it was finally approved. So, we decided to go ahead and do it. My kids don't like store-bought eggs," Dull said.
Dull said her hens provide her family with fresh eggs daily and are easy and inexpensive to care for.
"There are a lot of people in this community who could use the extra food, and they're really easy to raise and really fairly inexpensive to take care of," she said.
She also said the chickens have been well-received by her neighbors.
"My neighbors over here actually stand over their fence and watch them all the time. They get a kick out of it. Our neighbor over here thinks it's pretty cool, too," Dull said.
Despite the proposed rule change, Dull said she plans to keep her flock at five and believes backyard chickens should be more widely accessible.
"They're small enough, they don't take up a lot of space, they're not super loud. I think really, everybody should have access to raising chickens, even if it's just a couple of them," she said.
The Sparta Village Council is expected to vote on the ordinance amendment on March 16.
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