Charlottesville, VA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Charlottesville City Code § 4-9 bans keeping hogs, goats other than miniature goats, or sheep anywhere within the city, except for animals held for immediate shipment or slaughter. The exception the city carved out is for miniature goats: § 4-9(b) lets a resident keep up to three miniature goats at a time in any residential zoning district, provided males are neutered and every goat is dehorned. Nursing offspring under twelve weeks old do not count toward the three-goat cap. Separately, § 4-7 forbids horses, mules, cows, bulls, sheep, goats or hogs from running at large anywhere in the city; any of those animals found loose is impounded, and if the owner does not redeem it within five days the animal warden may sell it, place it for adoption, or humanely destroy it, with sale proceeds held by the city treasurer for sixty days before reverting to the general fund.

Fowl, including chickens, ducks, geese and pigeons, fall under § 4-8: it is unlawful to let them go at large in the city, though homing pigeons may still be released to return to their cote. None of these sections requires a permit to keep backyard chickens confined on one's own property; the prohibition is on letting animals roam loose, not on ownership itself. A related restriction, § 4-10, makes it unlawful to park a vehicle containing livestock on a residential street for more than half an hour.