Sonoma, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

010 to keep fowl, rabbits, honeybees, or livestock in the City of Sonoma except as the chapter provides, and it declares that unregulated keeping of animals is detrimental to public health and safety. 030(A)'s Table 1 sets the standards for fowl: keeping is prohibited outright in the city's commercial, mixed-use, multifamily, and mobile-home zoning districts, and where it is allowed the henhouse and pen must sit in the rear yard, set back at least 10 feet from the side or rear property line. A lot under 10,000 square feet may keep up to 16 hens; a larger lot may add another 16 hens for every additional 10,000 square feet of lot area, up to a citywide maximum of 50.

Roosters are prohibited outright, except that a permit issued before October 3, 2008 remains valid as long as its conditions continue to be met. The henhouse must be roofed and provide at least four square feet per hen, and the pen must be fully enclosed, including a roof, so the flock is securely contained. Enclosures must be built to keep rats, mice, and other rodents from being harbored underneath or within them, and feed must be stored so it does not attract rodents. Slaughtering is allowed only if conducted humanely and only for home consumption.

This is a City of Sonoma standard; it does not apply in the unincorporated Sonoma Valley communities around the city, which fall under Sonoma County's own animal-keeping rules.