St. Petersburg, FL Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

City Code § 4-31 defines 'fowl' as chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese and guinea fowl, and lets any property keep them subject to detailed standards. Fowl may never run at large or onto a neighbor's property without permission, running-at-large fowl are declared nuisances outright. Keeping requires a securely fenced area confining the birds to the owner's premises, plus a coop for when they're outside: coops max out at six feet tall and 130 square feet, cannot sit in the front yard setback or beyond the front façade of the principal structure, and must otherwise meet the side and rear yard setbacks.

Space minimums apply per bird: at least four square feet inside the coop and at least ten square feet of open outdoor area per fowl. The property-wide cap is ten fowl regardless of lot size, and any coop must sit at least 50 feet from a residence other than the owner's, unless that neighbor consents in writing. Crowing roosters or other noisy fowl that trigger a noise-ordinance conviction (currently § 11-53(7)) must be permanently removed from the property until ownership or possession changes. Fowl are barred from City property entirely except under an approved site plan.

Separately, § 4-32 lets other farm animals, goats, sheep, swine, horses, donkeys, mules, hinnies and cattle, be kept in any zoning district only on at least one acre per horse/mule/donkey/hinny/cow, or a half acre per sheep/swine/goat, in a securely fenced area outside the front yard, with weather shelter and daily manure removal that excludes flies and odors.