Rochester, MN Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Sec. 3-4-1 makes it unlawful to keep or harbor chickens without a permit, caps a standard permit at three hen chickens per premises, and bars a permit for any rooster outright. A larger permit of up to 12 hens may be issued by the common council only for keeping tied to an educational or instructional activity that genuinely needs the extra birds. Sec. 3-4-3 requires the permit application, available online or at the city clerk's office, to include a scaled diagram showing the coop and run's location and its distance from adjoining structures and property lines; the council can revoke or suspend a permit for any violation after written notice and a public hearing, and permits run through December 31 of the following year.

Livestock generally is excluded citywide: Sec. " Chicken-specific siting rules in Sec. 3-4-4 and 3-4-5 require the coop and run to sit at least 25 feet from any residential structure on another property, be screened by a solid fence or landscaped buffer at least four feet high, and cap coop size at ten square feet per chicken and six feet total height, with runs capped at 20 square feet per chicken and the same six-foot height limit; coops must sit on an elevated floor with 24 inches of clearance or use rodent-resistant concrete construction.