The European towns that give away free chickens

Towns in France and Belgium have been distributing free chickens for years to combat food waste – could this idea catch on elsewhere?

Around Easter in 2015, the small French village of Colmar started giving away free chickens to its residents. The goal of this experimental scheme, launched by the waste collection department, was to reduce food waste.

The project had been in development for some time. The then-president of Colmar Agglomération (a role similar to that of a mayor), Gilbert Meyer, had been re-elected in 2014 with the slogan "one family, one hen," encouraging residents to adopt a chicken. The following year, the initiative was launched in partnership with two nearby chicken farms. Residents were encouraged to consider the free eggs they would receive, as the effort put into raising a chicken would quickly pay off.

More than 200 homes in four municipalities signed up and were given two chickens each—either red chickens (Poulet Rouge) or Alsace chickens, an old and local breed. Each household signed a pledge committing to raising the chickens, with the understanding that the waste department could conduct welfare spot checks on the animals at any time. Henhouses were not provided; it was the responsibility of the residents to build or buy their own. The department ensured that each home had enough space for the hens, requiring between 8 and 10 square meters (86 and 108 square feet).

The scheme has been a success and is still ongoing. "Over the years, other municipalities have joined, and since 2022, all 20 municipalities of the agglomération have participated," says Eric Straumann, the current president of Colmar Agglomération. To date, 5,282 hens have been distributed to local residents, and applications are currently open for the next round of distribution in June 2025. Not only have residents received a plentiful supply of free eggs, but food waste has also been diverted from landfills, as chickens can be fed kitchen scraps that would otherwise be discarded.

"Considering that a hen has an average life expectancy of four years and consumes 150 grams (5.3 ounces) of bio-waste per day, we estimate that we have avoided 273.35 tonnes of bio-waste [since 2015]," says Straumann. 

Food waste contributes more methane emissions to the atmosphere than any other landfilled materials due to its rapid decay rate. In the US, around 58% of methane emissions released from waste landfills come from food waste. Although methane is shorter-lived in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (CO2), it has a global warming impact more than 80 times higher than CO2 over 20 years.

Globally, about one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted, totaling 1.3 billion tonnes per year. Food loss and waste account for 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions, nearly five times the total emissions from the aviation sector.

While chicken owners in the UK have been advised against feeding birds kitchen scraps due to concerns about spreading disease, it is legal to do so elsewhere. This practice can meaningfully reduce food waste and create a cycle that benefits everyone. 

Proposed with the aim of reducing food waste, chickens facilitate traditional circular economy practices that remain relevant today, particularly in villages, and which are also developing in urban areas," says Straumann. "Chickens fed on our food waste provide us with fresh eggs in return." An additional benefit is that the chickens can help teach children in Colmar about animals and the importance of protecting the natural world, he adds.

Colmar is not the only town to distribute free chickens, nor was it the first. In 2012, in another small northwestern French town called Pincé, two chickens were offered to each household to help them reduce organic waste. "Initially, it was a joke, but then we realized it was a very good idea," said Lydie Pasteau, the mayor of Pincé, to local media at the time. A total of 31 families received chickens, along with a bag of feed, and Pasteau described the scheme as a "surprising" success.

In Belgium, chickens have been distributed in the cities of Mouscron and Antwerp, as well as the province of Limburg, where residents had to agree not to eat the chickens for at least two years. More than 2,500 families adopted hens in one year alone in Limburg, according to some reports, while in Mouscron, 50 pairs of chickens were given out in the second round of the scheme.