Lynn, MA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

3, which limits Lynn residents to just two permitted agricultural animals: hens and honeybees. Other livestock, including goats, ducks, rabbits and pigs, is prohibited outright anywhere in the city. a; the same permit requirement applies to honeybees. i. The ordinance sets several operating conditions beyond the headcount: odor from the hens cannot be noticeable at the property boundary, the hens must stay on the property, and henhouses are capped at eight feet in height with a minimum of two square feet of floor area per hen.

Henhouse placement is also restricted: the structures are subject to the same accessory structure setback rules that apply to sheds and garages, and they may not be built in front yards or in side yards that abut a street. Responsibility for the flock rests with a resident of the dwelling on the lot, so an absentee landlord cannot authorize a tenant-free coop. Because this is a zoning accessory use rather than a Board of Health license, Inspectional Services administers the permit rather than the Health Department, and violations, such as keeping more than six hens, keeping a rooster, or building a henhouse in a front yard, are enforced by the Building Commissioner as ordinary Zoning Ordinance violations.