A Tik Tok posted by @900throadblooms has gone viral for showcasing the many benefits of keeping chickens in your backyard. The Tik Tok account is run by Melissa, a flower farmer whose homestead includes chickens and ducks.
In the video that has now amassed over 9.9 million views and 1.4 million likes, Melissa shared behind-the-scenes clips of her chickens. As the video plays, viewers' listen to an audio that tells the story about a community in Belgium that gave away 6,000 hens.
Viral Hen Video
The story being told happened in the province of Limburg. In an effort to reduce food waste, the municipality offered to subsidize the cost of hens for any household that was interested in taking part.
A few conditions applied if you decided to take the subsidy and raise chickens. First, the owners had to agree not to eat or give away the chickens for the first two years. They were also supplied with resources to learn about chickens and were responsible for learning how to properly care for them. It was clear that this program was a success for everyone involved. Not only did the program remove many tonnes of waste from the landfill, but it also supplied each household that participated with their own continual supply of fresh eggs.
After the news spread about the success of this program, many other places began their own versions of programs that allowed residents to keep a flock. Cities in Canada such as Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto all developed their own backyard hen programs or regulations that allowed residents to test out homesteading in their own backyard.
UrbanHensTO is an example of one of these programs. Toronto piloted this program in 2018 to allow Torontonians, who lived in one of the four specified zones, to keep a maximum of 4 hens in their backyard. Participants had to register and agree not to sell or give away the eggs produced and not use the hens as livestock.
Many Canadians are becoming interested in keeping hens for egg production as foodflation continues to rise and disrupt households across the country. Many are finding keeping a couple hens as a simple way to cut down on their grocery bill. According to Statistics Canada, egg prices have risen 16.5% since last year, with the average price of a dozen eggs being $3.87. This is a stark difference $1.79 that Canadians were paying for a dozen eggs in December 2021.
Alongside the cost savings, hens are a practical choice for small farmers or urbanites because of their size. They will even get rid of your food scraps and fertilize your grass!