Oneida, NY Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

L. No. 4-2024, regulates backyard hens only within the City of Oneida's Inside District, the area bounded by the Conrail tracks near the Thruway, the inside/outside corporation line, Genesee Street (NY Route 5), and Oneida Creek. Section 71-3 makes it unlawful to harbor hens there without a valid, current permit, and it bans roosters outright everywhere in the City. Under Section 71-4, applicants file with the City Clerk, submit a site plan showing the coop and run with at least a ten-foot setback from side and rear yards (unless built against a privacy or stockade fence) and pay an application fee set by Common Council resolution; the Community Service Officer then inspects the site within two weeks.

Section 71-5 caps flocks at 12 hens on parcels under one acre and 24 on parcels of an acre or more, limits harboring to owner-occupied single-family parcels, bans commercial sale of eggs or hens, and bans outdoor slaughter. Section 71-6 requires the coop to provide at least four square feet per hen and the run at least ten square feet per hen, both confined to the rear yard, and the coop itself cannot exceed 72 square feet on lots under an acre or 144 square feet on larger lots.

Permits run one year initially and renew for three-year terms, with a follow-up inspection each time. Feed must be kept in covered, rodent-proof containers, and manure and bedding must be managed weekly to prevent odor and pests; on-site manure accumulation is prohibited outright.