ChickenMap · Ordinance lookup
Can I have chickens in Amarillo, TX?
Yes
Backyard hens are allowed here
These are the City of Amarillo’s own rules, and they apply inside the city limits.
If your address is outside the city limits — a Amarillomailing 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 the unincorporated county land surrounding Amarillo— see the section below. Check your parcel’s jurisdiction to know which of the two applies to you.
Inside Amarillo city limits — residential zoning
Outside the city limits? See the unincorporated county land surrounding Amarillo ↓
- Hen limit
- 4 hens
- Roosters
- Allowed
- Permit
- Not required
- Setback
- Not specified
Coop rules: 'Barnyard fowl' (chickens, ducks, geese, peacocks, guineas, turkeys) may be kept at a location zoned Industrial, Agricultural, or Heavy Commercial, OR up to 4 birds per quarter-acre at an otherwise-zoned location that is at least 1/4 acre in size. No barnyard fowl permitted on lots under 1/4 acre. No more than 25% of a chicken flock may be roosters; flocks under 4 birds may have at most 1 rooster. Those flock-composition rules are citywide and apply on industrial/agricultural/heavy-commercial land too. Flock-size limits don't apply to governmental entities or nonprofit organizations.
§ 8-2-5(f)–(i) of the city's animal chapter, most recently amended 6/20/2017 (Ord. No. 7670). The rule reads as a prohibition with exceptions rather than a grant, and it sits in the nuisance section rather than a dedicated backyard-chicken ordinance. This 4-per-quarter-acre limit has been the subject of repeated public debate (2012 and 2017 city council/animal-board discussions both left it unchanged) — residents wanting more birds or smaller-lot allowances have been repeatedly turned down, so the rule is stable but not universally popular locally.
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 — the unincorporated county land surrounding Amarillo
Different jurisdiction — the unincorporated county land surrounding Amarillo, not the City of Amarillo. This applies only if your property is outside Amarillo city limits. A mailing address in Amarillo does not settle that — the city and the county boundary are different lines. Confirm your parcel’s jurisdiction before relying on it.
Texas counties have no general power to zone. A county may regulate only what the Legislature has specifically allowed it to regulate, and backyard poultry is not on that list — so outside a city's limits there is usually no county rule capping how many birds you may keep, and no county rule about roosters specifically. That is an absence of authority rather than a permission, and three other things can still reach you. A public nuisance can be abated in the unincorporated area, which is the provision most likely to apply to a crowing rooster, and it bites hardest near a platted subdivision or within 300 feet of one. A city can extend some regulation into the land just outside its limits. And a deed restriction or HOA covenant binds regardless of what any government allows. Confirm with your county before relying on this — several counties do hold narrower powers the Legislature granted them individually.
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.
Poultry sellers near Amarillo, TX
D. HARPER'S GAME BIRD FARM
Booker, TX, 79005
Raises: