ChickenMap · Ordinance lookup
Can I have chickens in Longview, TX?
Yes, with conditions
Allowed, but with specific rules you must meet
These are the City of Longview’s own rules, and they apply inside the city limits.
If your address is outside the city limits — a Longviewmailing 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 Longview— see the section below. Check your parcel’s jurisdiction to know which of the two applies to you.
Inside Longview city limits — residential zoning
Outside the city limits? See the unincorporated county land surrounding Longview ↓
- Hen limit
- Not specified
- Roosters
- Not specified
- Permit
- Not required
- Setback
- 100 ft
Coop rules: Poultry must be kept in an enclosure on the owner's own premises at all times. An enclosure means a house or building, or a fence, structure or pen with secure sides, top and bottom, providing protection from the weather. No enclosure may be within 100 ft of any adjoining property — the owner's own dwelling is expressly excluded from that measurement. Livestock (larger animals) are separately held to 500 ft under § 13-29.
Longview's rule is distance-based rather than species-based: § 13-28 regulates 'chickens, turkeys, geese or other poultry' as a class and does not mention roosters at all, so the code neither permits nor forbids them specifically. The city sets no limit on how many birds you may keep, but no enclosure may be within 100 ft of any adjoining property — your own dwelling does not count toward that distance. On a standard residential lot that separation may be impossible to achieve. Birds may also be declared a public nuisance if excessively loud. Texas has no statewide hen-count guarantee, so Longview's own rule is the operative limit.
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 Longview
Different jurisdiction — the unincorporated county land surrounding Longview, not the City of Longview. This applies only if your property is outside Longview city limits. A mailing address in Longview 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 Longview, TX
B. CJ'S CHICKEN RANCH
Mount Vernon, TX, 75457
Raises: