Santa Cruz County, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Santa Cruz County Code Title 6 defines livestock as animals kept for husbandry, including but not limited to horses, mules, burros, asses, cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry. The Code makes it unlawful to keep or maintain in the unincorporated county any chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons or other fowl, or any rabbits or guinea pigs unless they are confined at all times to the owner's property and provided a suitable house or coop with an enclosed runway, and the coop is predator-proof (coyote, raccoon, fox, mountain lion are present in much of the county). Additional zoning rules in SCCC Title 13 control the number of animals per acre, minimum lot size for larger livestock (typically requiring Agricultural or Residential-Agricultural zoning for horses, cattle, sheep, swine), and setbacks for coops, stables, and corrals from property lines and dwellings. Roosters and crowing fowl are often subject to nuisance enforcement under SCCC 8.30 (Noise). Cities have separate rules - Santa Cruz allows backyard chickens with limits; Capitola, Watsonville, Scotts Valley have their own.