Independence, MO Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

A sets a graduated table for keeping small animals and fowl inside Independence city limits, Jackson County, Missouri. Fewer than three small animals kept only as pets need a fenced enclosure, coop or cage set back six feet from the property line and 25 feet from any other residence, with no minimum distance from the owner's own house. Up to six chicken hens, roosters excluded, kept for non-commercial purposes step up to a 50-foot setback from other residences while the six-foot property-line and coop requirements stay the same.

Up to ten small animals or 20 fowl (still no roosters) push the other-residence setback to 100 feet, and any greater number kept for any purpose, including roosters, requires a fenced space 200 feet from other residences. Paragraph D lifts every numeric limit, including the rooster ban, for land zoned for agricultural use, provided the same enclosure and setback structure is followed. Paragraph B bans outdoor slaughtering everywhere except zoning district R-A. Paragraph C requires fowl be kept so as to prevent a public nuisance or health hazard, and paragraph F requires a watertight, fly-tight, securely covered manure receptacle, emptied often enough to prevent nuisance, with removed manure either buried under six inches of earth, spaded into the ground as fertilizer, or hauled off the property.

Paragraph G requires enclosures to be maintained to mitigate flies and disease, and paragraph H requires impervious interior surfaces, adequate ventilation and a dry interior. Paragraph I bars selling or giving away chickens, goslings, ducklings or rabbits younger than eight weeks old in lots smaller than 25 to a single recipient. Paragraph K requires ferrets over four months old to carry a current rabies vaccination from a licensed veterinarian. Paragraph L requires cages and pens to allow rest, exercise and flight suitable to the species and a barrier from predators, exempting veterinary hospitals, grooming shops and pet shops.