A man raising chickens in his backyard in a small Saskatchewan community will get to keep the animals until a new village council tackles the issue after elections in the fall.

In June, the village of Welwyn decided to prohibit residents from keeping birds on their property.

That effectively put resident Andre Mailloux on notice that his backyard chickens would have to go. But Mailloux, who had been raising birds in pens for five years, said he would challenge the bylaw.

Now the village council has decided it will not take action. Instead, the issue will be brought back for discussion after local elections, scheduled for October.

Welwyn has a population of 140 and is near the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, about 235 kilometres east of Regina.