ChickenMap · Ordinance lookup
Can I have chickens in Pasadena, TX?
Yes, with conditions
Allowed, but with specific rules you must meet
These are the City of Pasadena’s own rules, and they apply inside the city limits.
If your address is outside the city limits — a Pasadenamailing 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 Pasadena— see the section below. Check your parcel’s jurisdiction to know which of the two applies to you.
Inside Pasadena city limits — residential zoning
Outside the city limits? See the unincorporated county land surrounding Pasadena ↓
- Hen limit
- Not specified
- Roosters
- Not specified
- Permit
- Not required
- Setback
- 50 ft
Permit: Permit only required for keeping birds/fowl for commercial purposes (any purpose beyond home consumption) — requires city council approval that facilities meet specifications and won't harm public health/welfare. Ordinary backyard/personal keeping needs no permit.
Coop rules: Poultry/fowl/rabbits may not be kept within 50 ft of any residence. Fowl must not run at large (must be confined to the owner's premises). Coops/enclosures must be scraped/cleaned at least every 24 hours with no odor emitted, interior whitewashed every 6 months, disinfected monthly, and kept with deep dry litter to discourage pests. Violations can result in the animals being impounded and, if unclaimed/unpaid within 48 hours, sold to a poultry dealer.
§6-7 through §6-10 (Code 1964, §§4-1, 4-7 through 4-9). Separately, general livestock (cattle, horses, sheep, goats, hogs) is banned within city limits unless the property is 10+ acres, with a 50 ft setback from any adjoining residence in that case.
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 Pasadena
Different jurisdiction — the unincorporated county land surrounding Pasadena, not the City of Pasadena. This applies only if your property is outside Pasadena city limits. A mailing address in Pasadena 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 Pasadena, TX
A. TUMBLEWEED CHICKENDOM
Highlands, TX, 77562
Raises: