Ashwaubenon, WI Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 4-1-5 of the Ashwaubenon Municipal Code bans keeping livestock such as horses, cattle, sheep or goats, and poultry generally, outside the rural estate (RE) district, but subsection (C) carves out a chicken-keeping program for the one-family residence district (R-1). A resident must get an annual permit from the village clerk, valid January 1 through December 31, and pay the fee set by village board resolution; the application must include Wisconsin Department of Agricultural Trade and Consumer Protection registration under Wis. Stat. 51. First-time applicants also need written approval from every owner-occupied neighboring property within 100 feet of the coop, though renewals skip that step unless the permit was previously non-renewed, suspended or revoked.

Only four chickens are allowed per property and only four permits total may be active Village-wide in the R-1 district at any time, Section 4-1-5(C)(3)(a)-(b). Roosters are banned outright, slaughter may only happen at a licensed meat processing facility, chickens cannot free-range and must stay in a sanitary coop or attached run of no more than 40 square feet, and selling eggs or chicks from a permitted flock is prohibited. Coops need at least four square feet per bird, must sit at least 25 feet from any principal residential structure on an adjacent lot, and can never sit in a front or side yard or inside any required setback.

The Clerk, Chief of Public Safety or humane officer can deny, suspend or revoke a permit for noncompliance, appealable in writing to the Village Board within 10 days, but a revoked permit is never reissued.