Taylor, MI Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Sec. 6-1 of the Taylor Code defines 'fowl' as any domesticated farm animal such as a chicken, pigeon, rooster, goose, duck, guinea hen or turkey, and separately defines 'farm animal' or 'livestock' as horses, ponies, jackasses, equine, cattle, sheep, goats and other domestic animals normally kept or raised on a farm, expressly noting that the term does not include wild, vicious or exotic animals, which are covered by a separate definition. Sec. 6-2(a) then folds both categories into one prohibition: no wild or exotic animals, fowl, farm animals or livestock are permitted in a kennel, household or otherwise anywhere in the city.

That means a resident cannot keep even a small backyard flock of laying hens, a rooster, ducks or a goat on residential property, no matter the lot size, because the ordinance draws no distinction between commercial farm-scale livestock and a handful of hobby chickens. Sec. 6-3 declares any keeping of an animal contrary to Chapter 6 a nuisance per se, giving the city an independent civil-nuisance basis for action beyond the straight prohibition. Sec. 6-4 places enforcement with the director of the department of public works, the animal control officer and the Taylor Police Department, any of whom can act on a complaint from a neighbor.

Because Sec. 6-2(a) applies citywide with no zoning-district or acreage exception printed in the ordinance, the same rule reaches single-family lots, multi-family properties and any other household regulated under Chapter 6.