Caldwell, ID Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Caldwell City Code section 08-03-17(4), part of the Running At Large; Animal Confinement section, states it shall be unlawful for any person to keep fowl, guineas or poultry unless the birds are at all times kept upon the owner's own premises within a shed, pen or other enclosure sufficient to restrain them from trespassing on the property of others. The rule sits in the same article as the general at-large ban on animals, canines and livestock, so free-ranging chickens that wander onto a neighbor's yard violate this subsection independently of the broader running-at-large provision in section 08-03-17(1).

The code does not set a maximum flock size, a minimum lot size, or a setback distance for coops, and it does not distinguish roosters from hens; the only stated standard is confinement sufficient to prevent trespass. Caldwell's zoning code in Chapter 10 may impose separate accessory-structure or setback standards on a coop or pen as a structure, but the animal-control confinement duty itself comes from this section. Violations are handled by animal control officers under the same enforcement and penalty structure that covers dogs and other animals kept in the city.