MAINE PUBLIC • September 10, 2025
Paul and Kamiwan Oliver live with their three kids in a single-story home on about a quarter acre of land in the city of Calais. The family has a flock of 19 hens they raise for eggs and meat. The chickens live in a coop on the side of the house made out of a repurposed shed. Kamiwan said it's the family's "attempt to have a small amount of responsibility" in sourcing their own food. But in June of 2024, Calais passed an ordinance on domestic livestock that restricts what chicken coops are built out of, where they're positioned and the number of chickens a household can own. The Olivers say it's effectively a ban on backyard chickens. They filed a lawsuit in Washington County this week that alleges the ordinance violates the "Right to Food" amendment of the Maine Constitution that was ratified in 2021.