Westfield, IN Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Chapter 10 of the Westfield City Code folds backyard chickens and other livestock into its general animal-owner duties instead of a standalone keeping ordinance. Section 10-2 defines livestock as horses, cows, goats, pigs, or any other four-legged animal used for pleasure or profit, and states plainly that fowl are expressly included in that definition, so a coop of hens is treated the same as a herd of goats for regulatory purposes. Section 10-3 then requires every owner, including owners of livestock, to give animals access to adequate food, water and space, to keep them in a safe, clean, sanitary and healthy manner without forcing them to stand or lie in their own excrement, to protect them from abuse, cruelty or neglect, and to provide sheltered, ventilated quarters large enough to exercise and move freely, protected from excessive heat and cold.

Section 10-3(b)'s cold- and heat-specific shelter rules, tied to the Tufts Animal Care and Condition Scales, expressly exclude livestock, leaving the general duties of subsection (a) as livestock's governing standard. Subsection (c) also exempts livestock guard dogs and livestock working dogs from other restrictions when monitored by their handler. The Westfield Police Department and the Hamilton County Humane Society enforce these duties, and Section 10-3(e) sets a fine of up to $500.00 per occurrence for any violation. This chapter sets no maximum number of chickens or livestock, minimum lot size, or setback from property lines; those questions run through the Westfield-Washington Township Unified Development Ordinance administered by Community Development, a separate instrument from Chapter 10.