Milton, WI Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Livestock generally is off-limits in Milton: Sec. 6-96 bars keeping livestock, defined in Sec. 6-2 to include cattle, horses, ponies, donkeys, mules, swine, fowl, sheep and goats, on property not zoned agricultural except as permitted under Article VII of Chapter 6. That Article VII, renamed by Ord. No. 576 on December 2, 2025 to cover "Keeping of Chickens, Quail, and Ducks," is the residential carve-out. Sec. 6-200 prohibits keeping chickens, quail or ducks on non-agricultural property without a permit, and Sec. 6-203 fixes the numbers: eight chickens, 16 quail, or eight ducks per parcel, with a combined ceiling of 20 birds, no roosters allowed, and no on-site slaughter.

Coops must sit in the rear yard, be at least 25 feet from a habitable structure on another parcel, be moisture-resistant, raised or hard-surfaced, and provide at least ten square feet per chicken or duck and four square feet per quail; they must be cleaned daily. Getting a permit under Sec. 6-202 means filing a scale drawing and fee with the city clerk, who notifies abutting and diagonally-abutting owners, who then have 14 days to file a written objection and request a hearing before the common council decides whether and on what conditions to grant it.

A denial can be appealed to the council under Sec. 6-204, which may waive requirements consistent with University of Wisconsin Extension guidance. Milton's Rock County neighbors, Beloit and the Town of Milton, are not covered by this ordinance.