The Chicken and Egg Page: City Chicken Regulations

CHICKENS IN THE CITY:
Chicken — and Dog — Regulations for Selected Cities

(The information in this chart was compiled in 2003 by Catherine Hallier.)

City	Chickens	Dogs	Comments
Spokane, WA	Up to three	Up to three	Can have up to three animals.
Falls Church, VA	Not allowed	Up to four	No "agricultural animals."
Topeka, KS	Unlimited	Unlimited	Chickens must be penned 50 feet from neighbor's house.
Syracuse, NY	Sometimes	Up to three	Depends on zoning. No roosters.
Mobile, AL	Unlimited	Unlimited	No breeding, no roosters.
Santa Rosa, CA	Up to 25	Unlimited	May have 25 chickens per 20,000 squre feet. No chickens in residential areas zoned R1, R2 or PRC.
Westfield, MA	Not allowed	Up to five	No "livestock." Maximum of five cats and dogs.
Casper, WY	Sometimes	Up to three	Can have chickens in special circumstances, like 4-H.
Corvallis, OR	Unlimited	Unlimited	No roosters. Chickens must be penned.
Santa Fe, NM	Unlimited	Unlimited	--
Little Rock, AR	Up to four	Up to four	Up to four animals total.
Oswego, NY	Not allowed	Unlimited	Can only have chickens that were "grandfathered."
New York City	Unlimited	Unlimited	Must have permit for chickens. Must be kept clean. No other poultry allowed, no roosters.
Chicago, IL	Unlimited	Unlimited	Can have unlimited chickens if use is only for pets or eggs; cannot have if use is to slaughter. Must be penned.
Seattle, WA	Three or more	Three or more	Can have a total of three small animals; more if the lot is large.
Houston, TX	Up to 30	Unlimited	Chickens must be 100 feet from neighboring structures.
Detroit, MI	Not allowed	Unlimited	No "farm animals."
Miami, FL	Up to 15	Unlimited	May have up to 15 hens, no roosters. Must be contained at least 100 feet from neighboring structures.
Minneapolis, MN	Unlimited	Up to three	Applicant needs consent from 80 percent of neighbors within 100 feet of real estate. Chickens must be penned.
Los Angeles, CA	Unlimited	Up to three	Chickens may not be within 20 feet of owner's residence, and must be at least 35 feet from any other dwelling.

For more information, you can find a compiled list of chicken regulations at The City Chicken.

Visit our online forum to discuss questions, concerns and advice about laws and regulations for keeping chickens in your back yard.

Comments

Jamie 8/5/2009 7:37:06 PM

I always see that quite a few large, highly populated cities do allow hens in the city limits. Interesting though, that Knoxville,Tn seems to still be behind the times in allowing them. We have a lot more problems with dogs and cats and the lack of care for these animals than I have ever seen with hens and/or farm type animals. For one thing, with specific rules, keeping chickens could be enforced better than an animal that is kept in the house. ie would be easier to see that there are no roosters in the flock, etc... Oh, yes, if properly kept, we probably wouldn't hear of a hen attacking and biting a person.
judy m 1/30/2009 4:13:16 PM

just this past week i read in the FREE PRESS that Ann Arbor,Mi has changed their regulations to permit 4 hens. We are making progess
ChuckMI 1/27/2009 11:50:23 AM

Interesting that Detroit, MI allows no chickens but unlimited dogs. I live in MI and in the past 5 years we have had several cases of COL (Crazy Old Ladies) who have 50+ cats in one house, with piles of feces everywhere. The local animal shelter had to remove the cats and destroy them all, since it is impossible to find homes for 50+ cats in 7 days, the limit the shelter will house "found" animals.
I would think your typical farmer person would be much more responsible and clean with chickens than these COLs with cats.

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CHICKENS IN THE CITY:
Chicken — and Dog — Regulations for Selected Cities

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CHICKENS IN THE CITY: Chicken — and Dog — Regulations for Selected Cities

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CHICKENS IN THE CITY:
Chicken — and Dog — Regulations for Selected Cities

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