Lansing, MI Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Lansing's Zoning Code allows hen-keeping as a narrow exception to its general ban on residential livestock. A one- or two-family residential property may keep no more than five hens, and roosters, ducks, peacocks, turkeys, and emus aren't allowed at all. Hens must be confined in an enclosure built to keep them on the owner's property and to keep rats or mice from denning underneath or inside its walls. That enclosure can't sit closer than 10 feet from the property line, or 40 feet from any residential structure on an adjacent lot, unless that neighbor consents in writing to the Zoning Administrator.