Maple Grove, MN Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 6-30 of the Maple Grove City Code assigns animals to zoning districts and measures them in animal units. Subsection (b) covers the R-A district. Any R-A land of ten acres or more is exempt from the per-acre limit. Smaller R-A parcels follow the schedule, and the total of all animal unit values, excluding dogs and cats, cannot exceed the acreage multiplied by 1.0. A three-acre R-A lot therefore tops out at three units. On that schedule a horse, cow or hog counts as one unit per head, sheep and goats count 0.5 unit each, and chickens and other poultry larger than a pigeon (emu and ostrich excluded) count one unit per 25 head. Pigeon-size or smaller birds count 0.5 unit per 25 head, and rabbit-like small animals count one unit per 25 head.

Subsection (c) covers R-1. A lot of at least one acre but under 1.5 acres is limited to three types: poultry larger than a pigeon at 6 head per 0.5 unit, pigeon-size birds at 12 head per 0.5 unit, and small animals such as rabbits at 12 head per 0.5 unit. Lots from 1.5 to under two acres add hogs and sheep or goats at 0.25 unit each, with poultry at 25 head per 0.50 unit. Lots of two acres or more add horses and cattle at one unit each, with larger poultry scheduled at 2 head per 0.50 unit.

Neighboring rules sit in the same chapter. Under subsection (g), the R-2, R-3, R-4 and R-5 districts are limited to traditional house pets normally housed in a residence. Subsection (e) prohibits honeybees in R-1 through R-5, and subsection (a) bans wild or exotic animals everywhere in the city. Section 6-28(c) requires a suitable fence in R-A and R-1 wherever hoofed animals or fowl roam or graze, and puts the fence, shelter or stabling at least 75 feet from any residence other than the keeper's own. Section 6-28 also requires that a horse, colt or pony get at least one undivided acre and that the premises stay clean and free of rodents, flies and insects.