Peoria, IL Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Sec. 4-4 states flatly that, except as the zoning ordinance in Appendix B or Sec. 4-5 provides, all farm animals are prohibited, and it specifically names members of the swine, ovine, bovine, caprine and equine families along with poultry and rabbits. That single sentence forecloses backyard chickens, ducks, goats, pigs, and similar livestock anywhere in the city unless the zoning ordinance's use tables carve out an exception for that lot. Sec. 4-5 then reopens the door narrowly for rabbits: possession is lawful only if the owner provides a cage of at least eight cubic feet with no interior dimension under one foot per animal, places every cage or structure at least ten feet from all property lines, and keeps the total rabbit count at ten or fewer, or no more than one rabbit per 3,000 square feet of lot area, whichever number is lower.

Any rabbit over six weeks old counts toward that cap. Because Sec. 4-4 and Sec. 4-5 sit in the same article as the general humane-care duties in Sec. 4-6, an owner who does qualify to keep rabbits under the exception still must supply sufficient food, fresh water, a four-sided weatherproof shelter, and adequate veterinary care, and remains subject to the abandonment and cruelty prohibitions in Sec. 4-7 and Sec. 4-8. Poultry and every other named farm animal have no comparable carve-out in the general animal code; the only path to keeping them is a zoning approval specific to the property.