Walker County, GA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Walker County Code § 22-153(b) governs the R-A Residential-Agricultural district: on lots of 5 acres or larger, the property owner can keep stables and horses at a density of no more than 1 horse per whole acre, and any barn or structure housing the horses must sit at least 200 feet from a dwelling on adjoining R-A or A-1 property. The same subsection bars commercial stables and boarding other people's horses for payment, and states flatly that no other livestock is permitted in R-A. Section 22-153(c) and (d) let the Planning Commission approve keeping of non-domesticated animal breeds case by case, weighing odor, noise, escape risk and neighbor objections, but excludes wild animals known to attack humans without provocation.

For poultry, section 22-156 sets a 200-foot buffer and setback from the property line for both a poultry house and any waste storage facility or stack house serving it. The rule runs both ways: a new residence built next to an existing poultry operation must itself stay 200 feet from the property line and 400 feet from an existing waste storage facility, though the farm owner, operator, or an employee-occupied residence is exempt from these setbacks. Commercial livestock uses such as riding stables need 10 acres or more under section 22-147(b)(9)e, with a 400-foot buffer to any adjoining residential property.