Skagit County, WA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

010 declares the entire county, boundary to boundary, a livestock restricted area, so the at-large rule applies in every unincorporated part of Skagit County, not just around Mount Vernon or Sedro-Woolley. 020 makes it unlawful for anyone owning or controlling livestock to willfully or negligently let the animals run at large within that restricted area, and separately bars letting livestock wander or stray onto the right-of-way of any public highway inside the area when no one is minding them. 020(6) defines "livestock" for county animal-control purposes as horses, mules, cattle, sheep, swine, goats, poultry (excluding fighting cocks), rabbits and similar farm animals kept for lawful use or profit, so backyard chickens and other poultry fall squarely inside the restriction.

030, investigates complaints about animal misconduct in the unincorporated area and enforces this chapter. 00 for each offense, a penalty schedule set by Resolution 6548 in 1975 and never rewritten since. 44 controls at-large animals; it does not itself cap how many chickens or head of livestock a parcel may keep, that is set instead by the zoning use standards in Title 14 for whichever rural zone the property sits in, so anyone planning a coop or pasture should still confirm density limits with Planning and Development Services before adding animals.