Bremerton’s chicken ordinance, allowing residents to keep chickens in their backyards, took effect Nov. 18, but the paperwork necessary for residents to legally own chickens won’t be ready until Dec. 3.

City Clerk Carol Etgen is preparing the application and permit and said the application will be available at the Kitsap Humane Society and on the city website for download.

Those who waged the eight-month campaign to legalize four hens in Bremerton backyards say they don’t expect an immediate barrage of people applying for the chicken licenses. Those who want to start raising chickens will do so in the spring, they say, and permits will mostly be obtained by those who had kept chickens illegally.

“I don’t think there’s going to be this big increase in population of chicken owners,” said Mark Smith, of Bremerton, who advocated the legalization of backyard hens. “I think the people who want them already have them.”

Farmland Pets in Silverdale will not sell chicks until February, manager Shannon Randall said.

“We have had several customers that have had illegal chickens in Bremerton for a long time, so they’re excited that they can keep them legally now,” Randall said.