Merced, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

080 of the Merced Municipal Code governs livestock and poultry keeping citywide. Subsection I limits any residential lot to no more than two livestock or poultry animals total. Subsection C bans hog pens or pigsties within the city, and bars keeping live hogs longer than 24 hours except for shipment. Subsection F prohibits keeping bees anywhere in the city, except for educational purposes conducted by a governmental agency. Subsection D bars horses or cows from running loose in a yard, corral, or enclosure within a described district bounded by Bear Creek, Parsons Avenue extended, Eighth Street extended, and V Street.

Subsection E makes it unlawful to herd or picket any animal in a street or alley at any time. Subsections G and H prohibit keeping livestock or poultry for slaughter or product use, and bar slaughtering within the city except in zoned commercial or industrial areas. Owners who let livestock or poultry stray from their property face liability for the city's costs of capturing or restraining the animals, on top of any other penalty, under subsection B. 081 carves out two specific bounded rural-residential areas, formerly zoned agricultural under the county, where larger-scale animal raising is grandfathered: parcels of at least one or three acres (depending on the area) may keep cattle, goats, sheep, hogs, horses, and up to two roosters per parcel, plus up to two large animals or five birds per acre, subject to the property having lawfully kept animals as of a fixed 2003 or 2006 date and staying in compliance with county health and property-maintenance standards.