Greenwich, CT Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

The Town of Greenwich regulates backyard chickens and livestock keeping through Article 9, Animal Control, of the Code of Ordinances rather than through a coop-specific chapter. Section 4-110 sets the animal-count thresholds that trigger the Article: a stable is any structure built to house one or more horse, mule, sheep, goat or cattle, a kennel is any structure built to house five or more dogs over six months old, and a coop is any structure built to house ten or more fowl or pigeons. Anyone keeping fewer than ten chickens or other fowl in a plain enclosure falls outside these setback triggers, but once a coop crosses that ten-bird threshold, Section 4-113 applies three distance rules enforced by the Director of Health: no stable, kennel or coop may be built or maintained within 50 feet of any dwelling house, within 100 feet of a well or the high-water mark of a surface watercourse, or within 200 feet of the high-water mark of a public water supply reservoir.

Structures built before the Article's effective date, or approved directly by the Director, are exempt from the setbacks. Section 4-113 also requires that stables, kennels, coops, yards and other places where animals are kept stay in a sanitary condition, and Section 4-114 separately bars letting manure or animal waste accumulate in a way that causes odors, breeds flies, drains onto neighboring land, or contaminates surface or groundwater. Violations of Article 9, including a noncompliant coop setback, carry a fine of not more than $100 per violation under Section 4-117, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense; the Director of Health or the Animal Control Division of the Greenwich Police Department can order abatement.