UMATILLA — Last fall, Umatilla city leaders amended an ordinance to allow residents with permits to raise poultry within city limits. Although not many residents have taken advantage of it, one family is enjoying its newest members.

Cory Kautz, a 30-year-old Umatilla County sheriff’s deputy, said after the ordinance changed, he and his wife Britni became interested in raising chickens to save money and become less dependent on store-bought eggs.

“I did it to kind of be self-sufficient, I guess,” he said. “Her main reason was mainly for the (price of) eggs that were going up. They have since kind of dropped back down, but I always wanted to raise chickens.”

Kautz said after securing the permit earlier this spring, he got six Plymouth barred rock chicks, the maximum number allowed, but one chick didn’t make it. To prepare for them, he built an approximately 80-square-foot coop and a 20-foot run in the backyard.

According to the ordinance, coops are limited to 80 square feet with its highest point no higher than 6 feet above grade. It also states the birds must be in a backyard run or coop at all times.

Kautz said the hens are now adult-size and three of them recently began laying eggs.

“I think we are up to three eggs a day now,” he said. “That’s been pretty solid, but not all of them are quite laying yet. I think just three of the five are laying.”

He said the family hasn’t named the birds, but his 8-, 6- and 2-year-old children enjoy playing with them.

“They’ll come and help us get the eggs and stuff,” he said. “They kind of just try to chase them around.”

Even the family dog and cat get along with the hens.

“The cat is just really interested in them,” he said. “She’ll go over there and try to mess with them, but they fight back.”

Although Kautz hasn’t seen any savings yet from his investment, he enjoys having the chickens.

“It’s probably going to take at least a year or so to see that because of the lumber prices and feed and all that. It takes a little while to probably see that,” he said. “I’ll probably do it (raise chickens) forever. It’s fun.”

And though the family enjoys their egg producers, the permit does come with rules, including:

• The permit is issued to the property, so renters must obtain written approval from the property owner.

• The keeping of poultry is limited to the purpose of egg collection for personal, non-commercial use.

• The owners can’t sell eggs or engage in breeding or fertilizer production for commercial purposes.

• No roosters are allowed.

• Coops shall be kept clean, dry, free of vermin and noticeable odors and in good repair.

Umatilla Senior Planner Jacob Foutz said the amendment stemmed from residents’ discussions with city staff and the Umatilla City Council’s desire to ensure the community can be self-sufficient.

“We are really proud to be one of the incorporated cities in the state of Oregon that allows for our residents to be self-sufficient and raise chickens. This gives our residents an opportunity that a lot of Oregonians do not have,” he said. “This is such a new permit, but my experience with other permits is that they really ebb and flow. It may be three (permits issued) right now, but it could be eight by the end of the month. That is just how it goes.”