Madera, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

31, in Chapter 1 of the Animals title, regulates livestock kept within the city limits, defining the category to include but not limit to horses, mules, burros, pigs, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks and rabbits. No more than three such animals may be kept at any one location, unless another city ordinance or the Planning Commission sets a different number for that property. Every animal covered by the section must be contained in a fully enclosed pen, enclosed on all sides including the top where needed to prevent the livestock from wandering loose, and the pen must be kept sanitary so it doesn't create a health hazard or odor problem.

33, which can end in an order removing the animals from the city. The section also bans slaughtering, butchering or killing any covered animal, including chickens, in residential areas or in commercial areas not authorized for that purpose. None of this applies to a property that is zoned or used for agricultural or industrial purposes, so the three-animal cap and pen rules are aimed squarely at residential and ordinary commercial lots inside Madera rather than farmland.