Bayonne, NJ Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Bayonne City Code § 21-30.A, added by Ord. No. O-22-37 on November 9, 2022, defines "farm animals" broadly to include "but not limited to chickens and roosters, ducks, geese, pheasants, turkeys, quail or other fowl, cows, goats, sheep, swine, horses, or cattle and such other animals as are typically raised on farms for domestic use," and then states that "the breeding, keeping, harboring, raising and/or caring of farm animals, as defined herein above, is strictly prohibited within all zones including commercial and industrial property within the jurisdictional limits of the City of Bayonne." Section 21-30.d creates a narrow exemption: any resident who was already breeding, keeping, harboring, raising or caring for chickens and pigeons before the ordinance was introduced, and who registered those animals with the Bayonne Health Department, is exempt until the registered animals are no longer living, but must follow the pre-2022 rules preserved at §§ 21-30.1 through 21-30.5.

Those legacy rules required majority written consent of neighbors within 75 feet of the coop, barred keeping birds within 20 feet of any occupied structure, capped the combined total of chickens, ducks, other poultry and pigeons at 50 birds, required an annual $125 license from the Health Officer expiring December 31, and set coop construction standards including a four-to-14-foot height range, an 800-cubic-foot size cap, and weekly-to-twice-weekly cleaning depending on the season.