🐔 Join the Backyard Hen Network
Local Knowledge • Local Food • Local Community
A simple local network for backyard chicken keepers, future hen owners, and neighbours interested in urban agriculture, food resilience, and practical community learning.
Join the Backyard Hen Network Mailing List🌻 Why We’re Starting the Network
One of the unexpected things we’ve discovered while planning the Community Chicken Coop is just how many people in our neighbourhood are already raising hens, or thinking about it.
To help connect people, we’re starting a simple Backyard Hen Network for Winston Heights–Mountview and nearby communities.
The goal is to create a small local group of people who share an interest in urban chickens, food resilience, and practical backyard agriculture.
🥚 What Members May Receive
Members of the Backyard Hen Network may:
- Hear about urban hen workshops and education sessions
- Get updates on the Community Chicken Coop Pilot
- Share tips about hen care, winter setups, and coop designs
- Connect with other local chicken keepers
- Help new backyard hen owners get started
- Learn about responsible urban hen care and biosecurity
- Stay informed about local feed pickup opportunities
Whether you already have hens or are just curious about starting, you’re welcome to join.
📬 Join the Mailing List
If you’re interested, you can join the Backyard Hen Network mailing list using the button below.
Join the Backyard Hen Network Mailing List🌾 Why We’re Doing This
Urban chicken keeping is still relatively new in Calgary, and many people are learning as they go.
By sharing knowledge locally, we can make it easier for people to:
- Care for hens responsibly
- Follow good biosecurity practices
- Avoid common beginner mistakes
- Design safer and more practical coops
- Prepare for Calgary winters
- Build a stronger, more resilient local food system
The Community Chicken Coop Pilot is designed to be both a food project and an education space. This network helps extend that knowledge into backyards across the neighbourhood.
🏡 Connected to the Community Chicken Coop
The Backyard Hen Network is part of the broader Winston Heights–Mountview Urban Hen Program.
As the Community Chicken Coop Pilot develops, network members may receive updates about the coop, volunteer opportunities, education sessions, local feed initiatives, and community events connected to urban agriculture.
The goal is not just to keep chickens. The goal is to build practical local knowledge around food, care, responsibility, and community resilience.
🎓 Future Workshops
As the coop is built and the program launches, we plan to host free educational sessions, such as:
- Urban Hen Care 101
- Winterizing a Coop for Calgary Weather
- Backyard Biosecurity Basics
- Composting Chicken Manure Safely
- Designing a Predator-Proof Coop
- Understanding Feed, Grit, Calcium, and Treats
- Daily and Seasonal Hen Care Routines
These sessions will be open to residents and backyard chicken keepers from across Calgary.
🚜 Learning From Each Other
Backyard hen keeping works best when people share what they learn. A coop design that survives one Calgary winter, a feeding routine that keeps hens healthy, or a simple predator-proofing tip can save another household a lot of trial and error.
This network gives neighbours a way to share practical experience, ask questions, and help each other build better backyard setups.
🐣 New to Backyard Hens?
You do not need to already own chickens to join.
If you are curious about Calgary’s Urban Hen Program, thinking about applying for a licence, planning a coop, or simply interested in local food systems, this network is for you too.
Join the Backyard Hen Network Mailing List🌻 A Growing Community
Whether you have two hens, four hens, or are just curious about starting, you’re welcome to be part of the Backyard Hen Network.
Urban chickens are a small step, but together they help build local knowledge, local food production, and stronger communities.
Backyard Hens • Local Food • Shared Knowledge • Stronger Neighbourhoods