Mansfield, TX Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)
Key Facts
- Residential Lots
- Livestock prohibited
- Estate or Ag Zoning
- Allowed with stocking rules
- Swine
- Heavily restricted
- State Framework
- TX Ag Code Chapter 142
- HOA Overlay
- Generally bans livestock
Summary
Mansfield prohibits cattle, horses, hogs, sheep, and goats on standard residential lots under Chapter 14 and the UDC. Livestock is permitted on agricultural zoning and large estate tracts.
Sec. 142.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:(1) "Estray" means stray livestock, stray exotic livestock, stray bison, or stray exotic fowl.(2) "Perilous condition" means a circumstance or condition in which capture and impoundment of an estray presents an immediate threat to law enforcement personnel or to the health of the estray.(3) "Person" does not include the government or a governmental agency or subdivision.(4) "Exotic livestock" means grass-eating or plant-eating, single-hooved or cloven-hooved mammals that are not indigenous to this state and are known as ungulates, including animals from the swine, horse, tapir, rhinoceros, elephant, deer, and antelope families but not including a mammal defined by Section 63.001, Parks and Wildlife Code, as a game animal, or by Section 71.00
Full Breakdown
Livestock in Mansfield is regulated through Chapter 14 (Animals) of the City Code together with the Unified Development Code zoning framework. Cattle, horses, mules, donkeys, hogs, sheep, goats, and similar livestock cannot be kept on standard single-family residential lots. They are allowed on larger estate and agriculturally zoned tracts typically of one acre or more, subject to stocking density, setbacks from property lines and dwellings, fencing and watering requirements, and manure management rules drawn from Texas Commission on Environmental Quality general requirements and Texas Animal Health Commission standards.
Rural parcels annexed into Mansfield over the past two decades often carry legal non-conforming rights for livestock that predate annexation; owners keeping that status must not expand the use. Hogs are the most tightly controlled: Texas requires that swine be kept in clean, fly-proofed pens of approved size, and Mansfield enforces additional nuisance separation distances from neighboring residences. Breeding, commercial dairy, and slaughter operations require commercial zoning and additional state permits from Texas Animal Health Commission and TCEQ where applicable. Fencing must contain animals reliably; escaped livestock constitute a Class C offense and may result in impoundment at the owner's cost under Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 142 estray procedures. HOA covenants in master-planned subdivisions prohibit livestock categorically and are enforceable as private contract law.
Violations & Fines
Abatement orders requiring removal of livestock from non-permitted lots; Class C misdemeanor citations up to 500 dollars; impoundment of estray animals with owner-paid recovery costs under TX Ag Code 142.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a horse in my Mansfield backyard?
What happens if my neighbor keeps a pig?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mansfield
How Mansfield compares: Best Cities for Backyard Chickens·Texas rules heatmap·Compare Mansfield to another location·View the Texas animal ordinances overview
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