Manteca, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)
Key Facts
- Setback from homes/schools
- 50 feet
- Setback from hospitals
- 100 feet
- Permit issuer
- City finance officer
- Permit renewal
- Annually, May 1st
Summary
Manteca requires a city permit to keep goats, sheep, cows, or horses, and bans pens within 50 feet of schools, churches, or neighboring homes (100 feet of hospitals).
It is unlawful for any person to keep or maintain or cause or permit to be kept or maintained within the corporate limits of the city any goats, sheep, cows or other bovine animals, or horses, mules, donkeys, ponies or other equine animals, within any pen or stable, the exterior boundaries of which are within fifty feet of any school, church, public building, hotel, restaurant, lunchroom, or the dwelling house of any person other than the dwelling house or residence occupied by the owner of the animal.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4829770; v11 updated 2026-04-21).
Full Breakdown
Manteca Municipal Code § 6.12.010 bars keeping goats, sheep, cows, or other bovine animals, or horses, mules, donkeys, ponies, or other equine animals in a pen or stable within fifty feet of a school, church, public building, hotel, restaurant, or another person's dwelling, or within one hundred feet of a hospital. Even where the distance is met, § 6.12.020 requires a permit from the city finance officer, § 6.12.030 conditions it on sanitary facilities, and § 6.12.040 makes permits expire annually every May 1st and nontransferable. Hogs, pigs, and roosters over 100 days old are separately prohibited outright under § 6.12.080, subject only to a potbelly-pig exception (§ 6.12.110, capped at two per residence).
Violations & Fines
Keeping livestock without the required permit or within the setback distance is a violation of the animal title, enforceable as a public nuisance abatable by the city attorney (§ 6.04.060) and punishable as an infraction under the citywide general penalty, § 1.16.010.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I keep a horse in my Manteca backyard?
Are pigs allowed in Manteca?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Manteca
How Manteca compares: Best Cities for Backyard Chickens·California rules heatmap·Compare Manteca to another location·View the California animal ordinances overview
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