Broomfield, CO Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 6-24-010(B) generally prohibits keeping livestock or fowl, listing horses, mules, donkeys, burros, cattle, sheep, goats, swine, chickens, geese, ducks and turkeys, within Broomfield's residential and urbanized areas, subject to coordination with the zoning ordinance that may permit certain animals in certain districts. The section then carves out backyard chickens specifically: absent a specific zoning provision, single-family residential lots may keep chickens under nine numbered restrictions. No more than five chickens are allowed per lot, roosters are prohibited outright, and the birds must be contained within a coop and enclosure that cannot sit in the front yard and must be set back at least ten feet from the property line.

Outside slaughtering is banned. Keeping chickens requires a license from the Department of Community Development, with a one-time $25 fee. Coop size determines whether a building permit is also needed: coops and enclosures under six feet tall, or thirty-two square feet or smaller, are exempt from a building permit, while anything six feet or taller, or larger than thirty-two square feet, needs a permit through the Building Division. Any violation of these chicken-keeping restrictions is enforced under the general penalty provisions in Chapter 1-12, B.M.C., the same as other Title 6 animal-code violations, separate from the zoning-based livestock allowances the subsection also references for larger lots or agricultural districts.