Hawaii County, HI Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 25-4-18, added to the zoning code by ordinance 25-85 in 2025, lets a residential building site keep a 'household hennery' in the RS, RD, RM, RCX, and RA districts without a separate permit, subject to five conditions. Hens must stay confined to a coop, cage, hutch, hen house, or other fully enclosed area at all times unless the planning director approves otherwise, and that enclosure must sit no closer than twenty feet from any residential district other than RA while still meeting the applicable zoning district's ordinary yard setbacks.

The headcount is tied to lot size: four hens are allowed for the first five thousand square feet of building site area, with one additional hen for every one thousand square feet beyond that. Roosters are banned outright on any household hennery, and so is the commercial sale of hens or eggs, which keeps the use residential rather than agricultural. Keepers must also follow best management practices adopted by the State Department of Health, the State Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, and the USDA aimed at controlling odor, waste, and vectors such as flies and rodents in residential neighborhoods, so a hennery that draws odor or pest complaints can be found out of compliance even if the headcount and confinement rules are met.

A five-thousand-square-foot lot in Hilo or Kona tops out at the base four hens, while larger RA parcels can add one hen for every extra thousand square feet.