A measure to limit poultry numbers in Iowa’s capital city is prompting residents to protest with a chicken parade

DES MOINES, Iowa — 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 angered them by proposing stricter restrictions on keeping the 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 in response to other residents screaming bloody murder. Council member Linda Westergaard told KOI-TV last week that the birds are disrupting people’s peace and quiet.

“They are bothered by the smell, they are bothered 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.