Watsonville, CA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Watsonville Municipal Code § 6-1.510 makes it unlawful to keep chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons or other fowl, or goats, rabbits or guinea pigs, anywhere in the City of Watsonville unless four conditions are met. First, the birds and animals can never run at large. They stay in a suitable house or coop with an enclosed runway at all times. Second, the house or coop and runway must be maintained in a clean and sanitary condition, cleaned once a week or more frequently if necessary, and kept free from offensive odors. Third, the house or coop must be well limewashed or painted once each year or more frequently if necessary. Fourth, no part of the house, coop or runway can sit less than twenty-five feet from any dwelling or place of business occupied by human beings, unless the occupant of that dwelling or business gives written consent.

Section 6-1.510 prints no separate chicken count. The zoning chapter adds a lot-wide cap. Section 14-28.040 allows a total of not more than six domestic animals, as defined in Title 14, on a lot in an R-District or in conjunction with any residential use in another district, and not more than three of those can be dogs. It repeats the coop, enclosed runway and sanitation rules and sets the same twenty-five foot distance from any dwelling or place of business, with no written-consent exception.

Larger livestock sit under a separate permit rule. Section 6-1.509 makes it unlawful to keep or maintain any horse, cow, goat or sheep within the City limits, except as permitted by Title 14, without first securing a permit from the Health Officer. Goats appear in both § 6-1.509 and § 6-1.510, so a goat keeper in the City of Watsonville has to satisfy both sections. Section 14-28.060 covers horses, ponies, donkeys and mules in an R-District: one animal for each 20,000 square feet of fenced land area, a minimum lot size of 40,000 square feet, and fenced areas and housing at least fifty feet away from any habitable structure on adjoining property.