The county animal code sets no cap on backyard chickens, but Article XXIV makes it unlawful to let any chicken or fowl run at large onto another person's property. Where you may keep fowl is set by county zoning, not by PAWS.
The PAWS Rules define 'fowl' as birds of the order galliformes—chickens, roosters, ducks, geese, turkeys, peafowl—or any bird used for food or hunted as game. Article XXIV prohibits letting them run at large onto others' premises; Article XXIII similarly bars livestock at large. Numeric limits, coop setbacks, and rooster rules come from the Rutherford County Zoning Resolution for unincorporated land (agricultural districts allow fowl broadly) or the city code inside Murfreesboro, Smyrna, or La Vergne. Right-to-farm protections under T.C.A. §43-26 apply to bona fide farms.
Letting fowl run at large is a $50-per-violation offense under the PAWS Rules, and each day is a separate offense. Zoning breaches are handled by the county planning office.
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