Lakewood, OH Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 505.18(b) creates an irrebuttable presumption that listed animals are dangerous and banned, including bovines (goats, sheep, bison, buffalo), swine (including pot-bellied pigs), horses, ostriches, and '[a]ll game birds, including but not limited to, water fowl, chickens, roosters, ducks, geese, turkeys and common pigeon (other than a homing pigeon).' The lone exception is in Section 505.18(e): female chickens ('hens') may be kept only in an R1 Residential Single-Family or R2 Residential Single- and Two-Family District, and only after obtaining an annual permit from the Director of Public Safety with a $25 fee, a completed backyard-hen class from OSU Extension or another approved source, and a coop/enclosure plan. No more than six hens are allowed on any lot, and no hens may be kept on a lot with more than three dwelling units. Coops must sit at least three feet from side and rear lot lines and at least 20 feet behind the rearmost wall of the principal structure; the coop and run must not exceed 80 square feet or six feet in height, with at least three square feet per hen. Hens may be slaughtered only as permitted under Chapter 918 of the Ohio Revised Code. The City caps total active permits at 50.