Lexington, KY Animal Ordinances: Livestock (2026)

Lexington is unique in Kentucky and nationally for its USB/URB zoning structure that sharply separates urban development from the Rural Service Area containing more than 125,000 acres of thoroughbred farms, cattle operations, and small-grain agriculture. Inside the Urban Service Boundary in residential zones, the LFUCG Code of Ordinances Chapter 4 and the Zoning Ordinance generally prohibit keeping livestock including horses, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and roosters. Small backyard chicken flocks are permitted in some residential zones subject to coop setback and count limits; check current LFUCG rules before building a coop. In the Agricultural Rural (A-R) and Agricultural Urban (A-U) zones of the Rural Service Area, horses and livestock are a core permitted use. Fayette County is the horse capital of the world, home to Keeneland, the Kentucky Horse Park, and farms such as Claiborne, Calumet, WinStar, and Darley America. The Kentucky Horse Breeders Incentive Fund under KRS 230.802 supports thoroughbred, standardbred, and sport horse breeding and is funded by a tax on stud fees. Fencing, manure management, and setbacks for livestock structures from property lines and streams are governed by the Rural Land Management Plan and LFUCG zoning, with larger parcels required for more animals. Kentucky partition fence law under KRS Chapter 256 governs shared boundary fences between farms.