Cities that allow chickens:

Caledonia, WI ???? - Our Village Board DENIED our Request on 02/16/09

WHO may be Next - Watch the news for Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Shorewood, WI who are hatching thier proposals in 2009!

Madison, WI. Up to four chickens per household. Not allowed to roam free. Keep pen 25 ft. from neighbors. $10 annual permit required. Hens only; no roosters allowed.

Green Bay, WI. The law reads: May have 4 birds over 8 inches tall per residence plus a clutch or part of a clutch for 8 weeks.

Chicago, IL. Can have unlimited number of chickens if use is only for pets or eggs; cannot have if use is to slaughter. Must be penned.

Minneapolis, MN. Unlimited. Applicant needs consent from 80 percent of neighbors within 100 feet of real estate. Chickens must be penned.

St. Louis, MO. You can keep up to four chickens without a permit. If you want to keep more, you must file a permit (cost is $40) with the Health Commissioner.

Ann Arbor, MI. A resolution is pending which would allow hens but no roosters, if housed 25 ft. from neighboring houses.

St. Paul, MN. Can have one chicken without a permit, but more than one you have to get permission from 75% of neighbors 150 ft. around, or proof you have no neighbors for 150 feet. No roosters, and no selling eggs without a permit.

Portland, OR. Three hens allowed without a permit. No roosters. Permit for more costs $31. Keep 25ft. from residences.

Gresham, OR. Unlimited "livestock" allowed, provided they are kept 100ft. from neighbors, which is possible only on uncommonly large lots.

Spokane, WA. Up to three chickens allowed.. Can have up to three animals total.

Topeka, KS. Unlimited chickens allowed. Chickens must be penned 50 feet from any neighbors house.

Syracuse, NY. Chickens sometimes allowed. Depends on zoning. No roosters.

Mobile, AL. Unlimited chickens allowed. No breeding, no roosters.

Santa Rosa, CA. Up to 25. May have 25 chickens per 20,000 square feet. No chickens in residential areas zoned R1, R2 or PRC.

Casper, WY. Chickens sometimes allowed. Can have chickens in special circumstances, like 4-H.

Corvallis, OR. Unlimited chickens allowed. No roosters. Chickens must be penned.

Santa Fe, NM. Unlimited chickens allowed.

Little Rock, AR. Up to four chickens allowed. Up to four animals total.

Oswego, NY. Chickens not allowed. Can only have chickens that were "grandfathered."

New York City, NY. Chickens are considered pets under the Health Code. Unlimited number of hens allowed; no roosters or other types of poultry. Code mentions cleanliness of chicken area must be kept clean.

Seattle, WA. Can have a total of three small animals; more if the lot is large.

Houston, TX. Up to 30 chickens allowed. Chickens must be kept 100 feet from neighboring structures.

Miami, FL. May have up to 15 hens, no roosters. Must be contained at least 100 feet from neighboring structures.

Los Angeles, CA. Unlimited. Chickens may not be within 20 feet of owner's residence, and must be at least 35 feet from any other dwelling.

Round Rock, TX. Up to 5 fowl if your chicken pen is 25 ft. away from neighbor's residences. If the pen is 50 ft. away, you can have 10 fowl.

Burlington, VT. Up to 3 fowl per household.

Aiken, SC. Chickens must be penned, and the pen kept 40 ft. from neighboring residences.

San Antonio, TX. Up to 5 of any kind of fowl, any gender, per household. Must keep in a pen, 20 feet from any other dwelling.

Ponca City, OK. Chickens must be kept 100 ft. from neighbor's houses, so this essentially makes keeping chickens impossible on normal lots.

Austin, TX. Up to 10 fowl per household, but keep in enclosure that's 50 ft. away from neighbors.

Anaheim, CA. Can keep 3 chickens on a 5,000 sq.ft. lot, 6 chickens on a 10,000 sq.ft. lot.

Albuquerque, NM. Zoning allows the raising of unlimited poultry if penned at least 20 feet from neighboring dwellings.

Huntsville, AL. Fowl must be kept 150 ft. from neighboring residences, which of course is impossible on your typical city lot.

Lawrenceville, GA. No chickens allowed. However, apparently this law is only enforced if someone complains.

Mountain View, CA. Up to 4 hens without a permit. Keep 25 ft. from residences. Within 25 ft. is o.k. with written consent from residences. No roosters.

Nampa, ID. Keep 50 ft. from neighbors. Pay $50 for a permit. Only 3 chickens allowed and no roosters.

Bakersfield, CA. Municipal code 6.08.010: Any chickens must be "kept securely enclosed in a yard or pen at all times."

Des Moines, IA. Lots smaller than 1 acre, up to 30 birds; lots 1 acre or larger, up to 50 birds. Not allowed in the front yard, and must be at least 25' from neighbors.

Urbandale, IA. Chickens must be kept at least 150 feet from any dwelling.

Clive, IA. No more than 12 chickens on lots less than 1.5 acres. Must be 150 feet from homes and 50 feet from property line.

West Des Moines, IA. Chickens may not "run at large."

Windsor Heights, IA. No more than 2 chickens allowed; must be kept in a coop at all times. Must be at least 25' from neighboring residences, and may not be in front yard.

Sioux City, IA. Permit required. No roosters over 4 months old. No more than 50 birds total. Must be at least 25' from the home and at least 150' from neighboring homes.

Raleigh, NC. No limit on number of chickens kept.

Chapel Hill, NC. 20 chickens allowed.

Lafayette, CA. Residents can keep approximately 4 chickens.

Alpharetta, GA. There is a 75 chicken maximum.

Catawissa, PA. Chickens must be confined, no closer than 10 feet from neighboring properties, kept clean with no odors emanating across property lines.

Seattle, WA. Municipal Code 23.44.048 says up to 3 domestic fowl may be kept on any lot.

Eugene, OR. A maximum of 2 hens, no roosters, kept 20 feet from dwellings.

Oakland, CA. Keep chicken enclosed, & 20 ft. from any dwelling, church or school.

Bothell, WA. You may own 3 or less fowl. Must keep coop 20 ft. from your own property line. If your neighbors say it's okay, you may place chickens closer to your shared property line.

Denver, CO. Chicken permit must be purchased from the city for $50 & you must show that the enclosure will be clean & pest free.

Wenham, MA. Poultry allowed, but the town may restrict your operation if it causes a public nuisance (noise) or public health issues (disease).

Laredo, TX. If you keep 6 or fewer chickens, set-backs are not restricted. If you keep more than 6 chickens, you must keep the pen 100 ft. from any occupied building, besides your own.

Las Vegas, NV. Roosters not allowed. Hens allowed if kept in a coop, but must notify Animal Control first. Chickens can't be kept in a basement, house or cellar.

Downey, CA. Up to five chickens allowed per lot.

Woodland, CA. It is OK to keep up to 6 hens provided they are kept over 40 ft. from neighboring residences.

Vallejo, CA. You are allowed to keep up to 25 chickens if they are kept 15 ft. from neighboring dwellings. Roosters are allowed but subject to noise nuisance violations.

Roseville, CA. Maximum 10 chickens kept 20 ft. from any property line &/or building. They don't delineate hens or roosters.

Mission Viejo, CA. You are allowed up to two chickens, and roosters are not allowed.

Berkely, CA. Chickens must be kept penned and 30 ft. away from any bedrooms.

Riga / Churchville, NY. Chickens allowed but all housing of livestock has to be 100 ft. off of any lot lines.

Esquimalt, BC Canada. No poultry keeping is allowed in the Municipality of Esquimalt. However up to 10 caged "ornamental birds" (kept primarily for show) are allowed. (Their official definition of "Ornamental Bird" does not exclude chickens.)

Victoria, BC Canada. Has a bylaw that supports raising urban poultry. No Roosters. No "Farm Animals". Poultry are not classified as "farm animals" under Victoria's bylaws.

State College, PA. Legal to raise chickens provided they are housed "under sanitary conditions" and that they "shall not become either a public or private nuisance." No mention of numbers restrictions.

Pittsburgh, PA. "Fowl at large" are not permitted in unenclosed areas, other peoples' property, or public lands. Also, "no more than 5 pets per household" city limit and animal nuisance prohibitions as well.

Louisville, KY. If you have non-crowing poultry, you can have up to five birds. Must be penned and not allowed to roam on the owner's land.

Westwood, MA. Up to 10 fowl allowed on lots less than 40,000 sq. feet, Coop must be 15 feet from property lines. Permit application must include site plan. $10 annual permit fee and BOH inspection prior to issuance of the permit. Cockerels must be kept 1,000 feet from property lines.

Atlanta, GA. Chickens are allowed here.

La Puente, CA. Up to 20 chickens allowed for each ten thousand sq. feet of lot area in residential zones.

New Orleans, LA. Sale or donation of chicks younger than 4 weeks of age is prohibited except in quantities of 12 to an individual. Giving fowl away as prize or advertizing device is also prohibited. Chickens are to be treated humanely and kept in clean, sturdy housing.

Nashville, TN. Has an unlimited chicken law assuming "No person shall keep chickens within the metropolitan government area in such a manner that a nuisance is created" and are kept penned, no "fowl at large."

Omaha, NE. May have chickens in city limits as long as they are hens, no roosters, for egg production. Must have enclosure, subject to The Humane Society inspection, to apply for permit.

Brigham City, UT. Definition of domesticated animal includes 'fowls' Section 4:01.16 defines that the pets can be kept in humane enclosure not larger than 50 cubic feet. It also states that 'household pets' will be no more than 6 birds.

Woodinville, WA. No restrictions in the code for animals according to the planning department.

Gig Harbor, WA. No regulations for animals except bees.

Olympia, WA. Up to 3 birds, hens are considered, roosters prohibited.

Tacoma, WA. Livestock allowed in the city

Boise, ID. Up to three "pet" hens allowed. No roosters.

Colorado Springs, CO. A property may have a maximum of 10 fowl (chickens, ducks, etc.) requiring at least four square feet of coop area and adequate outdoor space. No roosters permitted within the city limits.

Toledo, OH. Chickens are permitted with a written variance from the city health inspector.

New Hempstead, NY. The maintenance of 4 or fewer fowl (chickens, ducks, etc.) is permitted. No roosters. All fowl shall be kept in an enclosure area at least 75 feet from any lot line.

Baton Rouge, LA. The keeping of more than three chickens within a recognized residential subdivision on a lot of less than one acre is prohibited. (Does this mean that you can keep two hens, then, if you live on less than

Sacramento County, CA. As long as your yard is 10,000 square feet or more, you can keep chickens.

San Jose, CA. 1-4 chickens must be kept 15 feet from neighboring structures. 4-6 chickens must be kept 20 feet away. A permit is required if you keep more than 6 chickens. In any area zoned 'residential,' only hens are permitted; no roosters.

Lynn, MA. You have to go to all your neighbors and have them sign a petition stating that they would not have any problems with you having the hens. If you have complaints from neighbors about your chickens, you are subject to a fine of $1000.00 per day.

Redwood City, CA. Maximum of 3 chickens permitted no roosters over 4 months of age.

Cambridge, MA. Nowhere are chickens mentioned in the city codes. The city itself comments that as long as the chickens are "pets", there is nothing to enforce or not enforce.

Sanford, FL. According to county ordinance, chickens are permitted. However, it appears the code wants you to keep your chickens penned 25 ft. away from your own house and 150 ft. away from neighbors. Which again, would be only possible on very large lots.

Everett, WA. No roosters. No maximum number of hens, but you

must get a facility license permit from Animal Services if you keep 5 or more. This requires inspection of your facilities/property. Chickens must

be kept enclosed.

Orem City, UT. Limit of poultry/fowl: 20 on a lot under one acre, and must be kept 40 ft. from dwelling on same lot or 85 ft. from neighboring dwelling.

Somerset, MA. The entire town is zoned agricultural. No limits on

the amount of chickens allowed. You are asked to submit a plan for your management of manure.

Folsom, CA. Not more than any combination of two chickens, ducks, pigeons and rabbits shall be kept within any zoning district of the city other than agricultural or agricultural combining districts; and said animals shall be kept or maintained at least twenty feet from any property line.

Toledo, OH. There is no variance needed for keeping chickens here.

Baltimore City, MD. Up to four chickens can be kept (no roosters) as long as they are confined to a moveable pen that is kept 25 feet away from all residences.

Baltimore City, MD. You can have up to for hens, no roosters, must have a permit

Vancouver, WA. Chickens are allowed, however roosters and peacocks are not.

Summerville, SC. It shall be unlawful for any person to permit or allow any chickens, ducks, geese or other poultry of any kind or description to run at large.

Rosemount, MN. You can have up to 3 hens, no roosters. You must get written permission from all the neighbors whose yards border yours. You must keep them in a coop between 12 and 24 inches above ground and the legs of the coop must be sunk in cement footers. And there is a $25 annual fee to keep chickens.

Northampton, MA. Three or fewer hens are allowed.

Campbell, CA. Not more than six animals in all, including hares, rabbits, guinea pigs, feline, bovine, sheep, goat, chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, doves, pigeons, game birds, or other fowl or any combination thereof.

Northampton MA. A maximum of three hens allowed; no roosters.

Davis, CA. A total of not more than six chicken hens and you have to keep them penned no less than 40 ft. from neighboring houses.

Ann Arbor, MI. An ordinance was approved on June 2, 2008. Up to 4 hens are now allowed, and you must pay $20 for a permit.

Asheville, NC. Must have permit, must keep chickens 100ft. from neighboring households, chickens must be penned, the enclosure inspected by the City, and droppings must be "collected and sealed in a container."

Woodfin, NC. There are no restrictions on keeping chickens if you own at least one acre.

Louisville, KY. If your lot is less than a half of an acre, then you can only have five hens, or "non-crowing" poultry.

Fort Worth, TX. You must keep chickens (no mention of quantity) fifty feet away from neighbors.

Arlington, TX. You must have a lot that is larger than a half an acre to lawfully keep hens (no roosters) here. If you have such a lot, then you must still keep the chickens 50 ft. away from neighboring houses.

Grand Prairie, TX. You have to be able to keep your chickens 150 feet away from any neighboring structures that house people, which is pretty difficult to do on a city or suburb lot.