Greenville, NC Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Sec. 12-2-28 allows up to 15 chickens, ducks, pigeons, doves, or other fowl on any single lot, tract, or parcel in the city. The fowl must be kept in a chicken house or coop built and sized for the number of birds it holds, and the owner must thoroughly clean out all manure and other waste from the house or coop at least twice a week, disposing of it so it doesn't cause odor or attract flies. No coop or house may sit closer than 80 feet from any parcel or property line the fowl owner doesn't own.

A companion provision, Sec. 12-2-27, separately caps hog and swine keeping: no hog, pig, or other suidae over 100 pounds or taller than 22 inches at the shoulder, and no more than two per dwelling unit or non-residentially zoned parcel. A further section, Sec. 12-2-29, requires anyone keeping animals in a stable, corral, pen, coop, or warren to keep the area clean and sanitary, removing manure, debris, and trash and spraying with disinfectant at least once a week. All three of these keeping-and-maintenance sections are enforced through Animal Protective Services or the Greenville Police Department, using the same civil citation process that applies across the rest of Chapter 12-2's animal provisions.