Saying she just wants to be able to feed her children, a Calgary mom yesterday pleaded not guilty to keeping livestock within the city.

Mary March said she believes she has done nothing wrong by keeping three chickens in the backyard of her Tuxedo home.

"As far as I'm concerned I didn't do anything illegal," March said, moments after appearing before a justice of the peace and setting an April 1, 2010, trial date.

"They're saying that I don't have a right to food, so I believe I should stick up for myself and everybody else," she said.

March was charged last month after refusing to abide by a bylaw order to remove her three chickens from her home within 30 days.

She was handed a $200 ticket, but instead of paying has decided to take the case before a judge.

"I have three kids and it's hard to feed three kids," she told reporters as she clutched her youngest, daughter Safree.

"I've had these three chickens for six months," March said.

March, a supporter of the Calgary Liberated Urban Chicken Klub (CLUCK), said she agrees with the group's stance local residents should be able to keep up to six hens for their eggs.

"I have three kids and I have three chickens so I have three eggs a day -- one per kid."

And she said her chickens are far less harmful than "silly, dangerous pets that don't produce food," such as boa constrictors.

KEVIN.MARTIN@SUNMEDIA.CA