ChickenMap · Ordinance lookup
Can I have chickens in Lubbock, TX?
Yes, with conditions
Allowed, but with specific rules you must meet
These are the City of Lubbock’s own rules, and they apply inside the city limits.
If your address is outside the city limits — a Lubbockmailing 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 Lubbock— see the section below. Check your parcel’s jurisdiction to know which of the two applies to you.
Inside Lubbock city limits — residential zoning
Outside the city limits? See the unincorporated county land surrounding Lubbock ↓
- Hen limit
- 6 hens
- Roosters
- Not allowed
- Permit
- Not required
- Setback
- 5 ft
Permit: Keeping more than 6 hens requires applying for a multipet permit with the Director of Animal Services, plus compliance with additional zoning ordinance requirements (Section 40.03.204(11)). No specific fee found for this permit.
Coop rules: Hens must remain confined in an enclosure in the rear yard. Enclosures under 200 sq ft: 5 ft setback from side/rear property lines. Enclosures over 200 sq ft: subject to Chapter 40's general setback requirements instead. Shelters must provide adequate sanitation/drainage; feed must be kept in a rodent/wildlife-proof, fly-tight receptacle.
§4.07.001, adopted 12/18/2017 (Ordinance 2017-O00159). Standard rules apply to R-1, R-1A, or R-2 zoned residences. Roosters are explicitly not permitted.
Keeping a rooster here? Lubbock 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.
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 Lubbock
Different jurisdiction — the unincorporated county land surrounding Lubbock, not the City of Lubbock. This applies only if your property is outside Lubbock city limits. A mailing address in Lubbock 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 Lubbock, TX
E. HARPER'S GAME BIRD FARM
Booker, TX, 79005
Raises: