Boone County, IN Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 157.005 adopts the Indiana Code definition of a confined feeding operation (CFO): confined feeding of 300 or more cattle, 600 or more swine or sheep, and 30,000 or more fowl, or any operation the Water Pollution Control Board or IDEM otherwise brings under that Act. Once a use crosses that threshold, Section 157.060 imposes a mutual 1,320-foot buffer: a proposed CFO must be 1,320 feet from the property line of any existing or approved residential use, and conversely a new residential use must stay 1,320 feet from an existing or approved CFO.

Below that scale, keeping chickens, horses or other livestock falls under the county's broader definition of agriculture purposes in Section 157.005, which covers husbandry or production of livestock or poultry and their products, and agricultural uses are permitted throughout the Agricultural and Rural Equestrian districts without the setback or a special exception. The Area Plan Commission administers the zoning code and can require a commitment against nuisance claims when new residential subdivisions go in near existing agricultural or livestock operations under Section 157.059, protecting the surrounding farm or stable use from remonstrance.