Dothan, AL Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Dothan's Table of Permitted Accessory and Agricultural Uses, City Code § 114-131.1, treats keeping poultry as an accessory use separately from raising poultry or livestock as a primary agricultural business. In the Agricultural-Conservation (AC) district, accessory poultry is marked 'P' for permitted outright. In R-1, R-2 and R-3, and again in the MH-2 manufactured-home subdivision district, the table marks it 'S' for special exception, meaning a resident needs board of zoning adjustment approval before keeping chickens or other fowl on an ordinary lot; the R-4, R-A and MH-1 columns are left blank, so accessory poultry is not an option there at all.

Footnote 3 to the table applies across every district where the use is allowed: a minimum lot size of half an acre is required regardless of zoning district, so a smaller in-town lot cannot qualify for the special exception even in R-1. Raising poultry or livestock as a primary use, rather than an accessory to a house, is a separate line on the same table and stays limited to the AC district. Getting the required special exception follows the same board of zoning adjustment process as any other special exception under article VI: a $35.00 nonrefundable application fee, newspaper notice seven days ahead of the hearing, and mailed notice to abutting property owners at least ten days out, with the board authorized to attach conditions such as coop placement or a cap on the number of birds.