Portland, ME Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Portland City Code Chapter 5, Article IV (Keeping of Domesticated Chickens), Sec. 5-402 caps the number of chickens at six (6) per lot regardless of how many dwelling units are on the lot, and explicitly limits keeping to female chickens only. The former chicken permit was repealed by Order 18-17/18 in August 2017, so no permit is required today. Under Sec. 5-403, chickens must be kept as pets and for personal use only — no sale of eggs, breeding, or fertilizer production, and slaughtering is prohibited. Sec. 5-404 requires chickens be kept in a covered chicken pen during daylight (sturdy wire fencing buried at least 12 inches, with aviary netting or solid roofing on top — chicken wire is not permitted) and secured in a henhouse at night. Henhouses must be at least ten (10) feet from any residential structure or other structure on adjacent lots, must meet zoning setbacks for detached accessory structures, must be located in a rear yard (or side yard on corner lots), and may not be in the front yard or inside a home. Per Sec. 5-405, odors must not be perceptible at property lines and noise must not disturb persons of reasonable sensitivity. Sec. 406 limits exterior coop lighting to motion-activated fixtures. Sec. 409 caps stored manure at one 20-gallon covered container per property.