Mahwah requires a Board of Health license to keep any live fowl, including chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons. Crowing roosters and screaming or chattering fowl are unlawful, and applicants must provide sanitary keeping conditions to qualify for licensure.
Under Chapter BH6, no person may keep live fowl in Mahwah Township without first obtaining a license from the Board of Health. Fowl includes galliformes such as chickens, turkeys, quail, and pheasant; anseriformes including ducks, geese, and swans; and columbidae such as pigeons and doves. Tropical birds confined to small indoor cages are excluded. License fees are $75 for one to five fowl, $125 for six to ten, and $125 plus $15 per additional fowl above ten. The Board may refuse or revoke licensure if facilities are not sanitary or a health hazard exists.
Keeping fowl without a license, allowing crowing roosters, or maintaining unsanitary fowl conditions are violations. The Board of Health may revoke licensure and pursue penalties under the township health code if conditions are not corrected.
See how other cities in Bergen County handle chickens & livestock.
See how Mahwah's chickens & livestock rules stack up against other locations.
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