ChickenMap · Ordinance lookup
Can I have chickens in Tyler, TX?
Yes, with conditions
Allowed, but with specific rules you must meet
These are the City of Tyler’s own rules, and they apply inside the city limits.
If your address is outside the city limits — a Tylermailing 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 Tyler— see the section below. Check your parcel’s jurisdiction to know which of the two applies to you.
Inside Tyler city limits — residential zoning
Outside the city limits? See the unincorporated county land surrounding Tyler ↓
- Hen limit
- 6 hens
- Roosters
- Not specified
- Permit
- Not required
- Setback
- 15 ft
Coop rules: Fowl must be confined in a pen, coop, or other structure sufficient to prevent escape, located at least 15 ft from side/rear property lines and behind the front yard setback. Sanitation required to prevent noxious odors/health hazards. Hogs and swine are separately banned outright.
§14-13, most recently amended by Ord. No. O-2021-40 (5/12/21). In AG-zoned areas: up to 6 fowl per acre. In all other zoning districts: up to 6 fowl per household regardless of lot size. Separate livestock rules apply to larger animals (1 per fenced acre, max 3 outside AG zoning, 50 ft fence setback, 100 ft structure setback). Exemptions exist for zoos, accredited research institutions, licensed exhibitions/special events, and service/assistance animals. Areas annexed into the city with pre-existing agricultural operations remain legal uses.
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 Tyler
Different jurisdiction — the unincorporated county land surrounding Tyler, not the City of Tyler. This applies only if your property is outside Tyler city limits. A mailing address in Tyler 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 Tyler, TX
B. CJ'S CHICKEN RANCH
Mount Vernon, TX, 75457
Raises: