Freehold Township, NJ Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 79-16 of the Freehold Township Code, part of the Animal Control article added by Ord. No. " Its core rule is blunt: housing or storing farm animals is prohibited unless the location where the animals are kept is itself a farm as defined in the article. Chapter 79's definitions section pulls in the Land Use chapter's farm test by cross-referencing the FARM definition at § 190-3, and separately defines FARM ANIMALS as those species typically raised on a farm, such as livestock and poultry.

Practically, a homeowner on an ordinary residential lot cannot keep backyard chickens, goats or similar livestock unless the parcel meets the Land Use chapter's farm threshold; a resident who wants poultry has to first qualify the property as a farm, not simply fence a coop. The same section separately bars large exotic animals and any potentially dangerous species, as determined by the Freehold Township Health Department, from residential zones outright. Horses and ponies are carved out of this general ban and instead run under their own detailed standards at § 190-125 (pen size, box-stall dimensions and setbacks), which this ordinance cross-references rather than repeats.

Chapter 79 is Township Committee legislation under Part II, General Legislation; Freehold Township's Board of Health separately administers Chapter 368, its own animal ordinance, so a resident researching poultry rules should confirm which body's provision actually applies.