The City of Vancouver has released for public comment draft guidelines for keeping chickens in residents' backyards.

The proposed guidelines cover everything from the size of coops to how owners care for the chickens.

Some observers told ctvbc.ca Sunday that the proposed guidelines are too restrictive in some cases and don't go far enough in other cases.

According to the proposed guidelines, posted on the city's website, residents would be allowed to keep up to four hens in their backyard. Hens would have to be at least four months old.

The city would allow hen enclosures to take up 100-square-feet of floor space and have a maximum height of 10 feet. The enclosures would have to be located at least 10 feet from a residence and would be restricted to the backyard.

Chicken keepers would be required to register with the city, and provide hens with adequate food, water, light and veterinary care.

They would also be responsible for the humane and sanitary disposal of hens. No backyard slaughtering would be allowed.

Dane Chauvel, who lives in the Kitsilano neighbourhood of Vancouver, said Sunday that the proposed guidelines don't take into consideration residents who live in multiple-unit dwellings. He also said a requirement that the coop for each hen be a minimum of four-square-feet is probably more than necessary.

But Chauvel, who illegally kept hens in his backyard for years until the city found out, said the city is moving in the right direction.

"They're innocuous, probably more than any other pet," he said. "They don't make the noise of a dog, they're contained, they're food-producing, they generate terrific compost, they're a wonderful addition to the urban landscape."

Victoria, Surrey, New Westminster, as well as several U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, Portland and Seattle, allow chickens in backyards.

Proponents in Vancouver say chicken-keeping helps decrease greenhouse gas emissions related to food transportation and furthers the city's goal of creating a sustainable food system.

Leanne McConnachie, director of farm-animal programs with the Vancouver Humane Society, is opposed to the practice. She said Sunday that she is concerned about the spread of disease and fears that chicken coops could give rise to predators.

She said she is also worried that people will abandon their chickens when the chickens reach the ends of their production cycles or when they realize the costs and time involved in keeping them.

But if the city goes ahead with a backyard chicken program, she said she would like to make it mandatory for all owners to go through a workshop to learn about proper chicken-handling techniques and to learn how to recognize diseases.

The proposed city guidelines only encourage owners to attend such workshops.

"It's not like a dog or cat that we grow up with. Chickens are different," she said.