Toledo, OH Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

11 of the Toledo Municipal Code, adopted by Ordinance 290-15 in 2015, sets the terms under which a resident may keep chickens inside city limits. No more than six hens are allowed per single-family dwelling, and keeping roosters is flatly unlawful under subsection (f): there is no grace period or permit workaround for a rooster. Coops or cages must sit at least twenty-five feet from the door or window of any dwelling other than the owner's own house, at least five feet off a side-yard lot line, and at least eighteen inches off a rear-yard lot line; coops cannot go in the front yard at all.

The enclosure itself has to be covered, predator-proof, well-ventilated, easy to clean, and sized for at least one square foot per hen, with hens given access to a securely fenced outdoor run. Owners must keep both the coop and the run sanitary and odor-free, and outdoor slaughtering is banned wherever it would be visible from a neighboring property. A resident who meets every condition needs no permit at all. Anyone who wants to keep more than six hens, house a rooster, or otherwise vary from these terms must apply to the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department, which issues permits on an annual basis and will presumptively renew one if no complaints come in. The Health Department can revoke a permit at any time for unresolved complaints or an unsanitary coop.