ChickenMap · Ordinance lookup

Can I have chickens in Louisville, KY?

Inside Louisville city limits — residential zoning

Hen limit

5 hens

Roosters

Allowed

Permit

Not required

Setback

Not specified

Permit: No poultry licence or permit exists. Chapter 91's licence and permit schedule covers dogs, cats, ferrets, kennels, stables, dealers and swine — poultry appears nowhere in it, and Appendix A's fee schedule lists no poultry fee.

Coop rules: Poultry must be kept in a fence or structure tall and sturdy enough to keep the birds on your own property, kept in good repair, with gates and doors that fit properly and are locked or latched. General animal-welfare duties also apply: wholesome food and water, shelter from the weather, veterinary care when needed, and a clean, dry, uncrowded living area free of accumulated waste. Poultry associated with an agricultural use — a tract of at least five contiguous acres — is exempt from the enclosure requirement.

Louisville and Jefferson County merged in 2003, so there is no separate county animal code to check — these Metro rules apply across the county. The exception worth knowing: Jefferson County still contains a number of small incorporated cities, such as Anchorage, Shively, Jeffersontown, St. Matthews and Prospect, which kept their own ordinances through the merger and may be stricter. If your address is inside one of those, check with that city too. Roosters are allowed here, which is unusual — but no more than one. On a lot of half an acre or more there is no numeric limit at all; the rule is simply that poultry belongs on tracts of that size. On a smaller lot you may keep up to 5 non-crowing birds plus at most 1 crowing bird. There is no permit and no distance setback, but birds must be enclosed well enough that they cannot leave your property. "Poultry" here covers chickens, ducks, turkeys and other domestic fowl, so the cap is shared across all of them, not per species. One practical catch on the rooster allowance: letting an animal crow or cackle excessively or continually is itself a nuisance violation, so a legal rooster can still land you a citation if the neighbours complain — only genuine agricultural operations are shielded from that. If you have five or more contiguous acres and qualify as an agricultural use, the enclosure rule does not apply to your birds at all.

Poultry sellers near Louisville, KY