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

Taylor regulates farm animals through two adjoining sections of the animal control chapter. Section 4-8 covers livestock generally: swine other than miniature swine are banned outright, and a cow or horse needs at least one-third of an acre of premises for each animal kept, with the total capped at one adult per one-third acre for the first acre and two adults per acre for each additional acre beyond two, though § 4-8(b) exempts land zoned Rural/Agricultural (R-A) from that formula entirely. Livestock pens, stables, corrals or enclosures must be built to keep the public out and the animals in, and any fowl, chickens excluded, must be kept at least 200 feet from a residential or commercial building, school or church owned or leased by someone else, though household pet birds like parrots and parakeets are exempt from that 200-foot rule.

Section 4-9 then governs chickens specifically: a resident needs a city permit before keeping any chickens, the birds must be contained in a fenced yard with clipped wings or in a roofed coop, and the coop must sit behind the front elevation of the house and behind the residential setback line set in the city's subdivision ordinance. Roosters are banned outright, with no exceptions, under § 4-9(b)(2). The flock size is capped at six adult chickens on a lot of a half-acre or less, and 12 adult chickens on a lot of an acre or more, though the city manager may waive the cap for a documented 4-H or Future Farmers of America project.

A permit application must include the applicant's name, address, Texas driver's license and phone number, the number of chickens to be kept, and a description of the shelter. 00 for a public health or sanitation violation.