York County, VA Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Under York County Code § 24.1-271, horsekeeping or other livestock for personal, non-commercial use is permitted by right in the Resource Conservation (RC) and Rural Residential (RR) districts, and only by Special Use Permit in the R33, R20 and R13 districts. Section 24.1-414 caps stocking at one horse or other livestock animal per usable acre, on a parcel of at least two usable acres, with boarding of animals owned by others prohibited. Backyard chicken and duck keeping is permitted as a matter of right in the RC, RR, R33, R20, R13 and WCI districts under § 24.1-271(gg), subject to the performance standards in § 24.1-414.1.

Those standards cap flocks at one chicken or duck per 2,500 square feet of lot area, with a hard ceiling of sixteen birds combined, and bar roosters unless the Board of Supervisors grants a Special Use Permit. Coops must sit at least ten feet from property lines and twenty-five feet from a neighbor's dwelling, be predator-proof, and be kept free of odor-causing waste accumulation. A $15.00 processing fee and sketch plan go to the Division of Development Services before keeping begins, and the operation is subject to periodic inspection. Game birds, geese, pheasants and guinea fowl are not covered by the chicken-keeping allowance at all.