ChickenMap · Ordinance lookup
Can I have chickens in San Angelo, TX?
Yes, with conditions
Allowed, but with specific rules you must meet
These are the City of San Angelo’s own rules, and they apply inside the city limits.
If your address is outside the city limits — a San Angelomailing 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 San Angelo— see the section below. Check your parcel’s jurisdiction to know which of the two applies to you.
Inside San Angelo city limits — residential zoning
Outside the city limits? See the unincorporated county land surrounding San Angelo ↓
- Hen limit
- Not specified
- Roosters
- Allowed
- Permit
- Not required
- Setback
- 100 ft
Coop rules: No numeric limit on hens. Small animals/fowl (rabbits, guinea pigs, chickens, guinea fowl, turkeys) kept in a pen/enclosure, or a trailer/vehicle containing them, must be at least 100 ft from any residence, business, or institution other than the owner's (2-hour parking exception for trailers/vehicles; exception doesn't apply in manufacturing zones for an allowed use there). Livestock (running at large) is separately banned outright.
§3.06.004, most recently amended 10/6/2015 (originally 1996 Code art. 3.900). Only 1 adult male chicken/rooster permitted per property citywide (§3.06.004(c), effective since 1989) — this is a firm numeric cap, not a percentage-of-flock rule like some other researched cities. A separate carve-out permits keeping up to 70 registered racing/homing pigeons per property, with specific banding/confinement rules, if kept predominantly for the sport rather than breeding/resale.
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 San Angelo
Different jurisdiction — the unincorporated county land surrounding San Angelo, not the City of San Angelo. This applies only if your property is outside San Angelo city limits. A mailing address in San Angelo 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 San Angelo, TX
E. 3R LIVESTOCK & FOWL
Poolville, TX, 76487
Raises: