Chapter 4 of the Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances ('Animals and Animal Control') permits backyard chickens with restrictions. The Code caps total chicken count at twenty (20) per household within the corporate limits and requires that chickens be kept a minimum of thirty (30) feet from the nearest residence other than that of the owner. Chickens may not run at large, all chicken houses and lots must be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, and raising chickens for commercial purposes is prohibited. Roosters (and ducks, geese, or other fowl) that disturb neighbors by loud and habitual crowing, quacking, or honking constitute a public nuisance under Chapter 4.
Chapel Hill's residential chicken framework is in Chapter 4 of the Town Code ('Animals and Animal Control'). The provisions are: (1) NUMBER - It is unlawful to keep more than twenty (20) chickens within the corporate limits of the town. (2) SETBACK - Chickens must be kept a minimum of thirty (30) feet from the nearest residence other than that of the owner, measured from the structure housing the birds to the neighbor's dwelling. (3) CONTAINMENT - No person shall allow his or her chickens to run at large within the corporate limits; chickens must be confined to the owner's property in a coop, run, or fenced area. (4) SANITATION - All chicken houses and lots must be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition at all times; accumulations of manure, spoiled feed, or vermin harborage are independently citable as a public-health nuisance. (5) COMMERCIAL PROHIBITION - It is unlawful to raise chickens for commercial purposes within the corporate limits of the town, so backyard flocks must be for household egg/companion use only. (6) ROOSTERS & NOISY FOWL - It is unlawful to keep or maintain any rooster, duck, goose, or other bird or fowl that by loud and habitual crowing, quacking, or honking, or in any other manner, constitutes a public nuisance. Roosters are not categorically banned but are functionally prohibited because of the noise-nuisance standard. The Town's progressive land-use posture (one of the earliest North Carolina municipalities to formally allow backyard hens) makes Chapel Hill notably more permissive than peer Triangle towns like Cary (which caps at 5 hens with permit) and Apex (which allows hens but prohibits male chickens by name). Coops are also subject to the Chapel Hill Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO) accessory-structure rules for the underlying zoning district (typical R-1, R-2, R-3, R-4, R-5, R-6 single-family and two-family residential districts), including rear and side yard setbacks for accessory structures. Field enforcement is by Orange County Animal Services (1601 Eubanks Road, Chapel Hill - 919-942-7387) which provides animal-control services in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Hillsborough, and unincorporated Orange County under interlocal agreement.
Keeping more than twenty (20) chickens within the corporate limits of Chapel Hill, locating the chicken house or pen closer than thirty (30) feet to a neighboring residence, allowing chickens to run at large, maintaining unsanitary conditions in the coop or run, or raising chickens for commercial purposes is a violation of Chapter 4 of the Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances. Keeping a rooster (or duck, goose, or other fowl) whose loud and habitual crowing, quacking, or honking constitutes a public nuisance is also a violation. Violations are enforceable by Orange County Animal Services (919-942-7387) in conjunction with Chapel Hill Police, with civil penalties ranging from approximately $25 to $500 per offense and the possibility of misdemeanor prosecution under N.C. Gen. Stat. 14-4 with up to 30 days imprisonment for repeat or serious offenses. Coop placement that violates LUMO accessory-structure setbacks is independently enforceable by Chapel Hill Planning.
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