Texas chicken laws are set almost entirely at the local level. There is no statewide statute telling you how many hens you can keep, where the coop has to sit, or whether roosters are allowed. Your city or county ordinance governs those details, your homeowners association can add its own ban on top, and any deed restrictions on your property apply as well. A setup that is perfectly legal in Fort Worth can draw a citation in Houston, and a city that welcomes backyard flocks won’t override an HOA covenant that prohibits them.
Before buying a single chick, check three things: the ordinance for your city or county, your HOA’s covenants if you have one, and the deed restrictions on your property. A conflict between any two of those can cost you the flock.
Coop Setback Rules by City
Most Texas cities that allow backyard chickens require the coop to sit a set distance from neighboring buildings. The distances differ enough that assuming your neighbor’s rule applies to you is a fast way to end up in violation.
- Houston requires coops to be at least 100 feet from any neighboring residence, church, school, or hospital. On smaller urban lots, that distance alone rules chickens out.
- Fort Worth requires pens or coops to be more than 50 feet from any residence other than yours, restaurant, school, hospital, daycare, or hotel.1City of Fort Worth. Requirements for Roosters and Fowl
- Austin requires enclosures with two or more fowl to be at least 30 feet from an adjacent residence or business, rising to 50 feet if the birds create a health hazard. The city lowered the standard distance from 50 feet to 30 feet in October 2022.
- Plano requires 20 feet of separation from any adjacent building for coops with fewer than five chickens, and 50 feet once you have five or more.2City of Plano. Backyard Chickens
If your lot can’t meet the required distance, some cities allow you to apply for a variance through the zoning board. Approvals are not guaranteed, notice usually has to go to adjacent property owners, and the process typically runs weeks rather than days.
How Many Chickens You Can Keep
Flock caps are one of the most common restrictions, and the numbers are all over the map.
- Houston allows up to 30 fowl, though the 100-foot setback makes that count practical only on larger lots.
- San Antonio allows three domestic fowl at a residence without a permit. The combined total of domestic fowl and livestock cannot exceed five, which can include up to two larger livestock animals such as horses, cattle, or goats.3City of San Antonio. Animal Care Services – Ordinances
- El Paso allows a maximum of six hens per property, with no roosters.4eCode360. El Paso Municipal Code – Chickens Ordinance
- Lubbock allows six hens in standard residential zones (R-1, R-1A, or R-2). Owners who want more must apply for a multipet permit through the director of animal services.5eCode360. City of Lubbock TX – Article 4.07 Livestock and Other Animals
- Plano caps total adult animals at ten per property, counting dogs, cats, and every other pet alongside chickens.2City of Plano. Backyard Chickens
Some cities scale the number by lot size. If your city’s ordinance is silent on flock size, nuisance and sanitation rules usually set the practical cap.
Roosters and Noise
Roosters generate more neighbor complaints than any other part of keeping chickens, and Texas cities respond in very different ways. Houston bans roosters entirely within city limits. El Paso’s chicken ordinance covers hens only.4eCode360. El Paso Municipal Code – Chickens Ordinance San Antonio allows roosters, counting them toward the domestic fowl total.3City of San Antonio. Animal Care Services – Ordinances
Dallas used to prohibit roosters. House Bill 1750 overrode that ban effective September 2023, making roosters lawful within the city.6City of Dallas. Keeping of Roosters Owners still have to comply with noise rules.
Noise ordinances give neighbors a path even where roosters themselves are legal. Fort Worth makes it unlawful to keep any animal that produces frequent, repetitive, or continuous noise for ten minutes or longer.1City of Fort Worth. Requirements for Roosters and Fowl Most cities investigate only when someone complains. If the noise is confirmed excessive, you may be required to soundproof the coop, relocate the birds, or rehome the offending rooster.
Permits, Fees, and Inspections
Many Texas cities require a permit before you can keep chickens. The process usually means submitting an application to animal services or code compliance, sometimes with a site plan showing where the coop will go. Initial fees typically run between $25 and $35, though amounts vary. Some cities require annual renewal; others issue one-time approvals.
Some municipalities inspect the coop before issuing the permit, checking construction, sanitation standards, and setback compliance. El Paso only issues permits for properties zoned single-family residential, multi-family residential, or agricultural.4eCode360. El Paso Municipal Code – Chickens Ordinance Not every city has a formal permit system, so contact your local code compliance office rather than assume one exists.
HOA Bans and the 2025 Legislation
An HOA in Texas can ban chickens outright even when the city allows them. This catches people off guard: a resident confirms with the city, buys the equipment, sets up a coop, and then faces HOA fines and forced removal because the covenants prohibit poultry.
The Texas legislature considered changing this in 2025. House Bill 2013 would have barred HOAs from banning chickens wherever municipal law allows them, and it passed the Texas House in April 2025. The Senate Local Government Committee never advanced it, and the bill died in committee. A companion measure, Senate Bill 141, would have blocked both cities and HOAs from banning up to six hens per household, and it also stalled without a vote. As of 2026, HOA covenants still override city chicken permissions in Texas.
If you live in an HOA community, read the deed restrictions and CC&Rs before acquiring birds. Some HOAs have amended their rules to allow small flocks, so look for recent updates rather than relying on the original covenants.
Sanitation and Disease Reporting
Local ordinances typically require coops and runs to stay clean, dry, and free of excessive waste. Manure has to be removed regularly and stored to control odor and rodents, and enclosures need ventilation. Cities that inspect focus on these basics, and failure to keep sanitary conditions can bring citations or forced flock removal.
Texas also has a statewide disease reporting duty. Under 4 Texas Administrative Code Section 45.2, anyone with care, custody, or control of domestic fowl must report certain diseases, including avian influenza and other federally reportable poultry diseases, to the Texas Animal Health Commission within 24 hours of diagnosis.7Legal Information Institute (LII). 4 Texas Admin Code 45.2 – Duty to Report Sudden deaths, respiratory distress, swelling, or a sharp drop in egg production warrant an immediate call to the commission at 1-800-550-8242 or a veterinarian.
Basic biosecurity keeps disease out of a backyard flock: dedicated shoes and clothes for the coop, hand washing with soap and water after handling birds, and keeping wild birds and rodents away from feed and water.8Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Checklist for Cleaning and Disinfecting Poultry Enclosures New birds should come only from NPIP-certified breeders or hatcheries that have tested clean for the diseases your existing birds have been screened for.
Backyard chickens commonly carry Salmonella even when they look healthy. The CDC recommends keeping chickens out of the house, not eating or drinking where they roam, collecting eggs frequently, and cooking eggs until both yolk and white are firm at an internal temperature of at least 160°F.9Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Backyard Poultry
Selling Eggs From Your Flock
Texas makes it straightforward to sell eggs from your own backyard birds. Under Chapter 132 of the Texas Agriculture Code, the state’s egg licensing and grading framework does not apply to anyone selling only eggs produced by their own flock, as long as no grade (such as Grade A or Grade AA) is claimed on the eggs.10State of Texas. Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 132 – Eggs You can sell ungraded eggs directly to consumers at a farmers market, from your front yard, or to neighbors without a state egg dealer license.
Baked goods made with your eggs fall under the Texas cottage food law, which allows most homemade foods to be sold without a food establishment permit, with an annual gross income cap of $150,000. Cottage food rules exclude meat and poultry products, so egg-based baked goods are fine but slaughtered chickens are not.11Texas Department of State Health Services. Texas Cottage Food Production
What You Can Do About Predators
Stray dogs, coyotes, raccoons, and hawks are constant threats to backyard flocks, and Texas law limits how you can respond.
Under Texas Penal Code Section 42.092, you have a defense against animal cruelty charges if you kill or injure an animal that you discover in the act of injuring or killing your livestock, but only “at the time of this discovery.”12State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 42.092 – Cruelty to Nonlivestock Animals Timing is decisive. Shooting a neighbor’s dog the morning after it killed your hens likely falls outside that defense.
When a domestic dog kills your chickens, the owner can be held financially liable for the value of the birds and related losses. Photograph the damage, note dates and times, and file a report with animal control. Small claims court is typically the practical route if the owner won’t pay voluntarily.
Wildlife is a different matter. Raptors are protected under federal law, so killing a hawk that took a hen could bring serious penalties. USDA Wildlife Services can help manage wildlife conflicts legally at 1-866-487-3297.13Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). Operational Activities – Protecting Livestock From Predators
Right-to-Farm Protection for Established Flocks
Chapter 251 of the Texas Agriculture Code, the state’s right-to-farm law, protects agricultural operations from nuisance lawsuits under certain conditions, and it explicitly includes “raising or keeping poultry.”14State of Texas. Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 251 – Right to Farm
If your poultry operation has been running lawfully and without substantial change for at least one year, no one can bring a nuisance suit to shut it down. Anyone who tries must prove every element by clear and convincing evidence, a higher standard than the usual civil “preponderance.”14State of Texas. Texas Agriculture Code Chapter 251 – Right to Farm The statute does not shield you from city code enforcement or state environmental regulation, but it does protect established operations from neighbors who move in later and sue over noise or odors.
The catch for most backyard owners: you must be operating lawfully in the first place. If the coop violates a setback rule or the flock exceeds the city cap, right-to-farm won’t help. Get into compliance, and the one-year clock starts from there.
Assistance Animals and Blanket Bans
The federal Fair Housing Act allows a person with a disability to request a reasonable accommodation for an assistance animal, even in housing that prohibits pets. HUD defines an assistance animal broadly as one that works, provides assistance, or offers emotional support that alleviates the effects of a disability.15U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Assistance Animals
HUD’s framework isn’t limited to dogs and cats, so a chicken could in theory qualify with reliable disability-related documentation. A housing provider can deny the request only if the specific animal poses a direct threat to health or safety, would cause significant property damage, or would impose an undue burden, and they must first consider alternatives that might reduce the concern. No widely reported federal ruling has specifically addressed chickens as assistance animals, so this is a narrow avenue rather than a reliable workaround. It is worth knowing about if you face a blanket HOA or landlord ban and have a legitimate disability-related need.
Fines, Seizures, and Appeals
Enforcement is almost always complaint-driven. Animal control and code compliance officers investigate when a neighbor reports something; routine proactive inspections are uncommon. You can be technically out of compliance for months without hearing anything, until a neighbor calls.
Most cities start with a warning and a deadline to fix the problem. Fort Worth gives owners a correction period before escalating to fines. Others move faster. First-time violations for exceeding flock limits or breaking setback rules typically bring fines from $50 to several hundred dollars depending on the jurisdiction, with repeat offenses drawing more.
In serious cases, especially where unsanitary conditions pose a health risk, cities can seize and remove chickens. Houston allows poultry confiscation when owners fail to fix health code violations after multiple warnings. Permit-issuing cities like El Paso can revoke a permit for repeated infractions, which effectively forces rehoming or surrender. Most cities offer an appeal or variance process, but staying in compliance from the start is a stronger position than fighting a citation after the fact.