Katy Doyle likes to have a cup of coffee with her chickens in the morning.
Doyle has six hens in a pen in her backyard— which is allowed only because she helped change the Frankfort ordinance.
An animal lover for all her life, Doyle became interested years ago in urban, or suburban, agriculture. “Wouldn’t it be cool if we could have chickens?” she thought, but Frankfort’s regulations at the time forbade the raising of poultry (as well as other livestock) within the city limits. “I need to figure out what we can do to make it legal,” Doyle thought, “because chickens are super cool and would do so well in a backyard setting.”
“Wouldn’t it be cool if we could have chickens?” she thought, but Frankfort’s regulations at the time forbade the raising of poultry (as well as other livestock) within the city limits. “I need to figure out what we can do to make it legal,” Doyle thought, “because chickens are super cool and would do so well in a backyard setting.”
By fall 2015, Doyle had begun the Master of Environmental Science program at Kentucky State University. In one of her classes, she wrote a paper about agriculture policy. Dr. Leigh Whittinghill, then a professor of urban agriculture at Kentucky State University, recommended that Doyle make chicken policy her capstone project.
program at Kentucky State University. In one of her classes, she wrote a paper about agriculture policy. Dr. Leigh Whittinghill, then a professor of urban agriculture at Kentucky State University, recommended that Doyle make chicken policy her capstone project.
Most MES students write a thesis that is more focused on science; instead, Doyle wrote a policy-focused capstone.
LEFT: Katy Doyle poses for a portrait with her chicken in her backyard in Frankfort, Kentucky, on Nov. 4, 2022. ABOVE: Katy Doyle feeds her chickens in her backyard in Frankfort, Kentucky, on Nov. 4, 2022. Photos by Jonathan Palmer
``Itwas a little different from anything 66; that [MES tudents] had done to get it-Im going to be number one,; previously, prime primeDoyle said. she said.
As of summer 2022, six permits had been issued. Doyle has helped many of them through the process, through a Facebook group for Frankfort backyard chicken owners.
Doyle got to work on changing Frankfort's ordinance. She first went to a Frankfort City Commission meeting in 2019 to ask the commissioners to consider changing the ordinance on raising poultry in the city. The commissioners listened and asked questions but tabled the issue until a later meeting.
Now she has her six chickens— red, cochin, brown, and Sussex chickens. Doyle hasn't named all of them, but she's thinking three will be Reba, Dolly and Wynona.
- Katy Doyle, Kentucky State University Alumna and Employee
After the next election, Doyle felt like enough of the commissioners would vote in favor of changing the ordinance, so she pushed to get the issue on the agenda. The City Commission formed an unofficial working committee, which meant the commission wasn't bound by the committee's recommendations.
In the mornings, she goes outside and opens the coop, where the chickens sleep. She feeds them, including kitchen scraps.
went through the mandatory reading and waiting process. The final adoption of the ordinance was January 24, 2022, with a 3-1 vote in favor.
“Chickens are surprisingly easy to keep, once you have good information.”
Doyle and the rest of the committee worked to draft a proposal. She researched other Kentucky cities' ordinances that allowed chickens, including stricter and less strict ones. She did her best to prepare for every counterargument. Finally, the proposal was read before the commission, then
The new ordinance allows Frankfort residents to raise up to six non-crowding chickens in their backyard. There are other requirements, such as a six-foot-tall fence and proper storage of feed.
Doyle received the very first permit to raise backyard chickens. “Come on, I had to propose this, work to get it— I’m going to be number one,” she said.
Many mornings, she sits in a camp chair and drinks her coffee, watching the chickens eat.
“I just romanticize them,” Doyle said. “It’s perfect. I love it so much. I’m so glad I went through this whole process, because it’s so rewarding.”