In Lincoln you may keep up to two hens without a permit; a Pigeons, Small Animal and Fowl permit (LMC 6.04.040) is required to keep more, up to about 20 birds depending on lot size. Roosters are effectively barred by noise and permit limits. Unincorporated county land is zoned separately.
Lincoln Municipal Code 6.04.040 governs pigeons, small animals, and fowl. Households may keep up to two hens without a permit; keeping more (up to roughly 20 on lots under an acre, scaled by bird weight) requires an annual fowl permit issued through the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department, with setback and sanitation conditions. Roosters are impractical because of noise-nuisance rules. On unincorporated Lancaster County acreages, the County Zoning Resolution controls agricultural and livestock keeping under Neb. Rev. Stat. 23-114 county zoning authority, and Nebraska's Right to Farm Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. 2-4403) protects pre-existing farm operations from later nuisance suits.
Keeping fowl without a required permit, or violating setback/number limits, is a municipal violation subject to fine and an order to remove the animals.
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See how Lancaster County's chickens & livestock rules stack up against other locations.
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