If you are worried about the chicken laws in your area, check with local authorities to find out what they are. The laws regarding hen keeping will vary from town to town.
Laws vary, but the most common will limit the number of hens per parcel or household, will ban roosters inside city limits, or will have specific requirements for coops and cages. It’s not uncommon for poultry to be banned outright.
Here are a few of the restrictions about hen keeping nationally:
Dallas doesn’t allow roosters.
In Austin the coops must be 50′ away from any buildings other than those that are yours.
Ft. Worth requires coops be at least fifty feet away from other buildings and limits the number of hens allowed by property size.
Houston requires that you get a permit to keep hens – registering the number of hens, the use (commercial, personal), etc.
Los Angeles has few restrictions regulating backyard chickens.
Oakland, CA prohibits roosters.
San Diego limits residents to 25 birds, requires that chicken feed containers be rat-proof, and that droppings be cleaned at least weekly.
Key West, FL gives specific guidelines for hen waste disposal, does not allow its use as a fertilizer, and requires that coops/cages be cleaned daily.
In Charlotte N.C. you can keep chickens with a forty dollar permit and certain stipulations regarding number of hens, size of pen, and number of feet away from buildings.
Concorde N.C. has only one hen law: chicken keeping is not permitted.
Columbus, OH requires a minimum of five acres to keep chickens and they must be 100′ away from roads or other properties.
Huntsville, AL requires that hens be at least one hundred and fifty feet away from neighboring homes.
Homewood, AL allows hens if they are at least 300′ away from neighboring buildings and 100′ away from roads.
Denver, CO has several requirements. You must place two signs in your yard for a month to find out if neighbors object, pay a fifty dollar application fee, hundred dollar permit fee, and a seventy dollar annual fee and be subject to periodic inspections of the sanitary conditions of your flock.
Washington, DC requires you to get written permission from your neighbors and keep chickens at least 50′ from other homes.
While some areas have no regulations against chickens, they do give citations for disturbing the peace if your birds become too loud.
Check your local hen regulations before starting a flock of your own.
For lots more info on this subject, visit Chicken Laws. If your are interested in building a chicken house coop, take a look at Building a Chicken Coop.