St. Johns County allows livestock and poultry by right on Open Rural and Agricultural land, including the Hastings farming belt. In residential zones, limited backyard hens are permitted under conditions: roosters are prohibited, and coops must be fenced, ventilated, and secured at night.
Whether a household may keep chickens or livestock is a St. Johns County zoning question decided by the Land Development Code. On Open Rural and Agricultural zoning, common across the Hastings agricultural belt and the rural west, livestock and poultry are permitted uses subject to lot-size and setback standards. In residential districts the county allows limited backyard hens under conditions: roosters are prohibited, the coop and run must be fenced and ventilated, and hens must be secured in an enclosure during non-daylight hours. Florida's Right to Farm Act protects bona fide commercial farms on qualifying agricultural land from local ordinances that would shut down established agricultural operations, a real shield in the Hastings potato country.
Keeping poultry or livestock against the St. Johns County zoning district, or keeping a prohibited rooster in a residential zone, draws a code-enforcement notice and fines. Qualifying commercial farms are shielded by the Florida Right to Farm Act.
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