La Habra, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Backyard livestock and fowl each require a permit before anyone in La Habra can keep them. Section 6.22.100 bars keeping any livestock, defined in Section 6.04.120 as cattle, goats, sheep, swine, horses, mules, donkeys, burros and other equine raised primarily for consumption, anywhere in the city except in the agricultural zone or an open space declared area, without a permit from the animal control officer and a fee set by city council resolution. Section 6.22.300 imposes the identical permit-and-fee structure on fowl, defined in Section 6.04.080 as a bird usually raised for consumption such as chicken, duck, goose, turkey, pigeon, quail or pheasant, with an exception for animals kept on a public school's premises for an agriculture education program.

Even where livestock is permitted, Section 6.22.110 caps any property at two mature cattle, goats, horses or other equine, pigs, sheep or other livestock, requires the cage, corral, house or pen be at least fifty feet from any adjacent dwelling or business, at least ten feet from any property line, cleaned weekly, and lime-washed or painted at least once a year. Section 6.22.310 applies a parallel structure to birds generally: no more than twenty mature birds citywide, with the same fifty-foot and ten-foot setbacks, except that a residence can keep up to four adult canaries, parakeets, parrots, doves or similar birds without triggering the permit chapter at all.