Berwyn, IL Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)
Key Facts
- Chicken limit
- No more than three per residential lot
- Roosters
- Prohibited outright
- Coop size
- Roof height under four feet, 20 square feet total
- Setbacks
- Ten feet from side lot lines, five feet from rear
- License fee
- $10 per chicken per year
- Citywide cap
- 25 valid coop licenses at any one time
- Fine range
- $50 to $750 per offense; license revoked after three
Summary
In the City of Berwyn, Illinois, livestock and most fowl are banned and roosters are prohibited outright, but a resident of a single family home can hold a coop license for up to three chickens. The license costs $10 per chicken per year, and only 25 coop licenses can be active citywide.
(A) No person shall keep, house or board any horse, mule, ass, ox, cow, goat, pig (with the exception of miniature potbellied pigs), rooster, turkey, duck, goose, or other like fowl, animal, or livestock. Possession of such animal is hereby declared to be a nuisance. (B) No person shall keep or harbor any rooster. (C) Regulations as to chickens: (1) No person shall keep or harbor more than three chickens on any residential lot; ... (6) An outdoor shelter shall be located in the rear yard of a lot and not closer than ten feet of each side yard lot line and no closer than five feet from any rear yard lot line; ... (9) Maximum roof height shall not exceed four feet. Total square footage of a coop not to exceed 20 square feet total; (10) License for coops must be obtained, a fee of $10 per chicken per year is required; ... (15) No more than 25 valid coop licenses shall be active within the city at any given time; (16) Any person found to be in violation of this section shall be fined not less than $50 nor more than $750 for each offense. Three violations of this ordinance, the owners coop license shall be revoked.
Full Breakdown
Berwyn Code of Ordinances § 616.08(A) bars any person from keeping, housing or boarding a horse, mule, ass, ox, cow, goat, pig (miniature potbellied pigs excepted), rooster, turkey, duck, goose, or other like fowl, animal or livestock, and declares possession of such an animal a nuisance. Division (B) separately prohibits keeping or harboring any rooster. Chickens are the one fowl the code lets residents keep, under division (C).
Numbers and housing come first. No person can keep more than three chickens on any residential lot. Chickens live in a covered outside enclosure coop. An outdoor shelter must sit in the rear yard, no closer than ten feet to each side yard lot line and no closer than five feet to any rear yard lot line. A coop's maximum roof height is four feet and its total floor area cannot exceed 20 square feet. Coops need adequate ventilation and a design that cleans easily, and the interior and the rear yard must stay sanitary.
Chickens cannot run at large. They can be outside in a fenced rear yard only between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. and only under the owner's supervision. Slaughtering poultry is prohibited, and § 616.09 separately bars slaughtering cattle, hogs or sheep or running a slaughtering business.
The license is the gatekeeper. The fee is $10 per chicken per year. Before approval, the applicant must show the city proof of consent from adjacent landowners, and must live in a single family home. The city issues one license per address, the coop license does not run with the land, and no more than 25 valid coop licenses can be active in the city at one time.
Violations & Fines
Section 616.08(C)(16) fines any violation of the chicken rules not less than $50 nor more than $750 per offense, and three violations cost the owner the coop license. The chapter-wide penalty in § 616.99 prints a range of $75 to $750 per violation, with each day a separate violation. Fines and costs fall on the animal owner or the property owner, and unpaid amounts can become a lien against the real property.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many chickens can I keep in Berwyn?
Do I need my neighbors' permission to keep chickens?
Can I keep a rooster, ducks or goats in Berwyn?
Is there a limit on how many people in the city can have chickens?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Berwyn
How Berwyn compares: Best Cities for Backyard Chickens·Compare Berwyn to another location·View the Illinois animal ordinances overview
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