Butte County, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Animal keeping in unincorporated Butte County is regulated under Butte County Zoning Code § 24-158 (Animal keeping). The section defines an 'animal unit' as one mature horse, or one mature cow, or three mature swine (lactating), or five mature sheep, or five mature goats, or five mature alpacas. On parcels between one and twenty acres, density is capped at one animal unit per acre. On parcels of twenty acres or more, the per-acre density measurement is not imposed. No animal keeping at all is allowed on parcels less than one acre in size, which effectively prohibits livestock keeping on small residential parcels.

The section also sets specific limits on poultry: hens are limited to fifteen maximum per five thousand square feet of fenced yard area or pen, and roosters are not permitted on any parcel less than five acres in size. Corrals, coops, and other animal containment structures must observe setback distances of twenty-five feet from dwellings in rural zones and fifty feet in denser residential and commercial zones. These animal-keeping rules sit on top of the statewide Right to Farm framework that Butte County recognizes by maintaining a 300-foot buffer between residential dwellings and existing agricultural uses (Butte County Code Article 17, agricultural buffer guidelines).