Pico Rivera, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Pico Rivera's zoning code addresses animal keeping in Chapter 18.22, Supplemental Use Regulations. Section 18.22.060 sets numeric caps meant to balance backyard chicken-keeping and small livestock with residential density. On a standard residential lot, a resident may keep no more than nine poultry or small animals in any combination, and no more than three of any single type, kind, or species: three hens, three rabbits, and three ducks would hit the nine-animal ceiling. Properties zoned R-E, the city's residential-estate zone, get more room: up to ten poultry or small animals total, with the same age-blind counting rule applying to chicks and adult birds alike.

Pigeon keepers face a separate, tighter cap of three birds per property, and any loft or pigeon house must be soundly built, kept sanitary under the City's health regulations, and landscaped to blend into the surrounding neighborhood. The code draws a hard line at species the City Council has decided residential Pico Rivera cannot support at any density: hives of bees are barred outright, with a narrow carve-out for schools, physician offices, or labs conducting supervised study, and oxen or swine are prohibited outright, along with any other animal or poultry type not otherwise addressed in Section 18.22.060.

Community and Economic Development's code enforcement staff and the City's Animal Control/Community Preservation division handle complaints and inspections for these limits, distinct from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's contract patrol duties.