ChickenMap · Ordinance lookup

Can I have chickens in Clewiston, FL?

Not allowed inside the Clewiston city limits

But allowed outside the city limits on agricultural and rural-residential land. We have researched unincorporated Hendry County — see what it allows.

These are the City of Clewiston’s own rules, and they apply inside the city limits.

If your address is outside the city limits — a Clewiston mailing address on unincorporated county land is common — your county’s code governs instead, and it may reach a different answer, particularly about roosters. We have researched unincorporated Hendry County — see the section below. Check your parcel’s jurisdiction to know which of the two applies to you.

Inside Clewiston city limits — residential zoning

Outside the city limits? See unincorporated Hendry County ↓

Hen limit: Not specified
Roosters: Not allowed
Permit: Not required
Setback: Not specified

Keeping chickens is prohibited anywhere within Clewiston city limits. Chapter 14, Article III (Livestock and Fowl) makes it unlawful to keep domestic fowl in the city, and defines domestic fowl to include chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese — so the ban covers hens as well as roosters, and ducks, geese and turkeys with them. There is no permit, no flock-size allowance and no lot-size or setback exception to apply for: the prohibition is flat and citywide. The only carve-out is for exhibition and display — birds may be kept for a recognized fair or exposition, or for exhibition and display within general commercial or industrial zoning districts, subject to the city's sanitary rules. That covers showing birds, not keeping a backyard flock at home. Note the contrast with larger livestock: cattle, goats, sheep, hogs and horses are prohibited except where the zoning chapter permits them, but the fowl ban carries no such zoning exception. Two other parts of the animal chapter matter even though they do not change the answer. The whole city is a declared bird sanctuary, created to protect and encourage birds, bird eggs and nests — that protects wild birds and is not a permission to keep poultry, so do not read it as softening the ban. And the chapter's nuisance section names crowing and cackling outright, alongside unsanitary conditions, flies and odors, applying to any animal or fowl; it can only be enforced after a neighbour files a written complaint with the chief of police, which gives the keeper three days to abate before a warrant can issue. Clewiston addresses extend into unincorporated Hendry County, and this entry covers the CITY of Clewiston's own code, applicable inside the city limits only — a rural property with a Clewiston mailing address may sit outside them and be governed by county rules instead.

Keeping a rooster here? Clewiston does not allow them inside the city limits, so if you are within them, a complaint is usually all it takes to start a clock. Posting him is free, and there is no sign-up form — you confirm the post by email, and that link sets up a free account so you can edit or remove it later.

Rehome your rooster Compare rooster rules in other cities

View the source ordinanceLast verified October 20, 2026

This is general information compiled from public ordinances, not legal advice. Rules change — confirm with the source and your local authority before keeping birds.

Outside the city limits — unincorporated Hendry County, agricultural land

Different jurisdiction — unincorporated Hendry County, not the City of Clewiston. This applies only if your property is both outside Clewiston city limits and zoned agricultural. Confirm both before relying on it.

Bird limit: No county cap on agricultural land
Roosters: Allowed
Permit: Not required
Setback: Not specified

IMPORTANT JURISDICTION CAVEAT: this is UNINCORPORATED HENDRY COUNTY zoning, not the City of Clewiston's code, and the city bans poultry outright — a property must actually be both (a) outside city limits and (b) zoned agricultural for this answer to apply. Verify both before relying on it. On agriculturally zoned land, poultry husbandry is part of the permitted agricultural use itself (the Land Development Code defines agriculture to include animal and poultry husbandry), so the county sets no bird count, no permit and no coop setback. The numeric animal tables elsewhere in the code govern residential districts, not agricultural ones. Roosters are effectively protected here rather than merely tolerated: the animal control chapter provides that noise from farm animals does not constitute a nuisance within an agricultural zoning classification, so a crowing complaint has no nuisance provision to rest on. Hendry County is also sugar and cattle country where parcels carrying Florida's agricultural tax classification are common, and such a parcel gets a further layer of protection from the state's Right to Farm Act. Keeping must still not create a common law nuisance, and animals must be fed, watered and humanely cared for.

View the source ordinanceLast verified October 20, 2026

Outside the city limits — unincorporated Hendry County, rural-residential zoning

Only in specific zoning districts. These limits apply to named rural-residential districts of unincorporated Hendry County — not to every address outside Clewiston. In other residential districts there, poultry may be prohibited entirely. Confirm your zoning district before relying on any number here.

Bird limit: By district↓ see table below
Roosters: Not specified
Permit: Not required
Setback: 15 ft

Bird limits here depend on your zoning district and parcel size:

Zoning district and parcel size	Maximum birds
RR — up to 2 acres	6 birds
RR — each additional acre or fraction	+5 birds
RR-F — 1.25 acres or less, with other farm animals	15 birds
RR-F — over 1.25 acres, with other farm animals	30 birds
RR-F — 1.25 acres or less, birds only	30 birds
RR-F — over 1.25 acres, birds only	40 birds
RR-WE — up to 1.25 acres	10 birds
RR-WE — each additional 1.25 acres	+5 birds

These caps apply only in three named rural-residential zoning districts of the unincorporated county: Residential/Rural Development (RR), Rural Residential-Farm (RR-F) and Rural Residential-Wheeler Estates (RR-WE). READ THIS BEFORE USING THE TABLE: in any OTHER residential zoning district in unincorporated Hendry County, poultry is prohibited outright — the code allows nothing beyond ordinary household pets there, so an unincorporated address is not by itself permission. Find your district before counting birds. Where keeping is allowed, pens, barns and shelters must sit at least 15 ft from every property line and behind the front corners of the dwelling, and birds may free range if fencing is adequate to keep them on the property. In RR-F the numbers can be raised or recombined by special permit, which requires a site plan and proof of ownership. Birds raised by children for a 4-H show are exempt from all of these counts. Keeping must not create a common law nuisance, and the agricultural-zoning exemption that protects crowing does not apply in these districts.

View the source ordinanceLast verified October 20, 2026

Check your HOA before you buy a single chick.

Even where local ordinance allows backyard chickens, a homeowners association or deed restriction can prohibit them entirely — and HOA rules override a city’s “yes.” Read your HOA’s covenants (CC&Rs) in addition to the city/county rules on this page.