Albany permits up to six hens (no roosters) at any residential dwelling with a hen license issued by the City Clerk under Chapter 115, Article VIII. The application fee is $25. Coops must sit at least 25 feet from any neighboring occupied dwelling, and the lot must provide 200 sq ft of open area for two hens plus 100 sq ft for each additional hen. Larger livestock — goats, pigs, cattle — are prohibited city-wide under §115-31.
The Common Council added Article VIII ("Farm Animals") to Chapter 115 of the City Code to legalize a limited backyard-hen program while keeping the long-standing ban on larger livestock intact. Section 115-31 makes it unlawful to keep cattle, horses, swine, sheep, goats, or fowl other than hens within the city. Section 115-32 then carves out the hen exception: the owner or primary occupant of any dwelling may keep up to six hens on the lot containing the dwelling, provided the owner first obtains a hen license from the City Clerk under §115-33.
The license application costs $25 (non-negotiable, non-refundable) and must be signed by the property owner if the applicant is a tenant. The applicant must demonstrate that the lot has at least 200 square feet of open area exclusive of buildings for the first two hens, plus 100 additional square feet for every hen above two, up to the six-hen maximum. Coops or runs may not exceed seven feet in height and the combined enclosure footprint may not exceed 150 square feet. Indoor coop space must provide at least four square feet per hen, and any attached run must provide at least eight square feet per hen.
No enclosure may be located closer than 25 feet to an occupied residential dwelling on an adjoining lot. The Clerk will reduce that setback only if the applicant submits written, notarized permission from the owners of every adjoining dwelling that sits closer than 25 feet to the planned coop location. Roosters, capons, and any other male fowl are flatly prohibited — a single rooster crow is enough to revoke a license. Slaughter of hens on the premises is prohibited, eggs are for personal use (no commercial sale from the residence), and the keeper must comply with all state Agriculture & Markets sanitation and humane-care rules. Albany Animal Control or Code Enforcement can seize hens under §115-35 if the property is unlicensed, the coop is unsanitary, or the hens are causing a nuisance.
Keeping prohibited livestock (goats, pigs, cattle, sheep, ducks, geese, roosters) under §115-31 is a violation punishable by fines of $250–$1,000 per animal per day. Keeping hens without a license, exceeding six hens, or violating setback/coop standards under §115-32 carries fines of $100–$500 and may result in license revocation and seizure of the hens under §115-35. Repeated complaints (noise, odor, escape) can also trigger nuisance abatement under Chapter 313 (Property Maintenance). Apply for a hen license at the City Clerk's office, City Hall, 24 Eagle Street.
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