Henrico County Code Chapter 5 sets no numeric limit on backyard chickens and requires no county chicken permit. 'Poultry' is defined as all domestic fowl and game birds raised in captivity. Where and how many you may keep is controlled instead by the County Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 24).
Chapter 5 (Animals) contains no keeping limit or permit for chickens; its only Article VI (Fowl) provision, Sec. 5-250, simply designates certain Lakeside, Old Westham and school areas as bird sanctuaries where trapping or shooting wild birds is barred. Sec. 5-1 defines 'Poultry' as 'all domestic fowl and game birds raised in captivity' and excludes agricultural animals from the 'companion animal' definition. Because Henrico has no towns, keeping of fowl and livestock is regulated by the county's Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 24), which ties allowances to the residential or agricultural zoning district and lot size. Nuisance conditions (odor, noise, sanitation) can be abated separately.
No Chapter 5 penalty for keeping chickens. Zoning violations under Chapter 24 are enforced by Community Revitalization; nuisance odor, noise or sanitation is separately abatable.
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