Iowans parade their backyard chickens in Des Moines protest against residential poultry restrictions

Residents with backyard chicken coops in Iowa’s capital city paraded some of their chickens from the Iowa Statehouse to City Hall on Monday after local officials ruffled feathers by proposing stricter restrictions keeping birds in residential areas.

Ed and Mary Byrnes Fallon, operators of an urban farm in Des Moines, launched the protest after the City Council earlier this month introduced a proposal to limit poultry — and the potential noise, smells and mess. The proposal would reduce the number of birds allowed from 30 to 12, but would also ban roosters.

Video posted online by KOI-TV showed several people in a small group of poultry enthusiasts holding chickens before walking the three-quarters of a mile from the Statehouse to City Hall. One boy wore a chicken hat.

“Flocks feed families,” said Mary Byrnes Fallon. “We need to have these birds in our communities to help people understand where their food comes from, to get good food for ourselves and our neighbors, and just to have a good, positive experience.”

The city has said the proposal is a response to other residents screaming bloody murder. Council member Linda Westergaard told WOI-TV last week that the birds are disturbing people’s peace and quiet.

“They are bothered by the smell, by the uncleanliness of everything,” she said.

But Ed Fallon posted on Facebook on Sunday that the city has received only three complaints about chickens between early 2020 and June 2024, plus one complaint about large turkeys and ducks in the wild.