Chicken laws in NJ

Hi! I am a beginner and I want to raise chickens. I am trying to persued my parents to let me own two or three, but I should know if you are able to raise them in NJ? So, are you able to raise chickens in your back yard in New Jersey? I live in a suburb if that makes any difference




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I love chickens, but I don't own any, must convince my parents how awesome they are first...

Hi! I'm in NJ and where I live is rural. Chickens are allowed. You need to check with your local zoning department because the laws are differerent in differerent areas (even within the same town).
Good Luck!

Yes, what Sunny said. I live in Brick, Ocean County and I can only own 4, no roo. But people that live on the other side of the same town, (which is more rural than where I am) can have many more.

You can check out more info on the internet, you have to go through a bunch of snooping before you get to the details that you need. Good Luck! Hope you are one of the lucky ones and can have more than 4 !!!

Thank you! I will try to find out now on the internet... Thanks again!

i have family in NJ they live close to the city(manhattan) I think thats in Hudson county. Are there any laws allowing chickens there?
They want to try to have some chickens but dont want problems.

Hello, I live in Gloucester Township, NJ and want to raise some chickens for eggs in my backyard. I called the local township zoning office and talked with the zoning officer. I asked him if I was allowed to have a few chickens in my backyard and he asked me "Why would you want chickens in your backyard?" I told him why and he said "Why don't you just go to the store to get eggs?" He did not know the law and told me "I guess you can if you want." I asked him if he could give me a better answer and left him my phone # so he could call me back after looking into it. I talked with him 3 times over the phone and went to the zoning office in person and still can not get a straight answer out of anyone. How can these people who are supposed to be enforcing the laws do so when they dont even know the laws themselves? Does anyone know where else I can go to find out what the law is?


Thanks, Bryan.

Chicken Coop, if your town's zoning doesn't say anything that the zoning officer can tell you about keeping chickens then I would suggest to:

a. Call up the zoning person again, and suggest that you are planning to get some pet chickens and that the pet laws should apply -- maybe suggest that it is like getting a few canaries or parrots, except that they happen to be more useful. Let the zoning person know that you are planning to make sure that your chickens meet the other requirements for polite living in your area (noise, nuisance, etc.) and ask them to let you know if they have any concerns.

b. Let your neighbors know that you are interested in having chickens, and tell them a little about how you are planning to keep the chickens in line as "polite" neighbors in your neighborhood. Tell them that the chickens might make some noise, but no more than a dog or playing kids would. Let them know how you are planning to manage the chicken manure, and if they are gardeners, offer them some for your garden. If your neighbors have kids, offer to let them come over and say hello to the chickens (with parent supervision). Ask your neighbors that if they every have any concerns about your chickens, to please talk to you.

For both neighbors and zoning person -- by reaching out and starting the dialogue BEFORE you get the chickens, so that if they do have any troubles, they can come to YOU instead of complaining to someone else.

My local laws permit me to have chickens, but I still value the goodwill of my neighbors. If my neighbors were really upset about my chickens, I'd try to change what was upsetting them -- but if my immediate next door neighbors were really, really upset, I would get rid of my chickens. So far my neighbors have been great. Which reminds me -- that I need to check in with my neighbors about the start of the gardening season. If they want, I can loan them my chickens for a little slug & bug control before the garden is planted.

I want to keep a few hens, but my town, Carteret, New Jersey has very specific ordanance against it. I have spoken with our mayor about it and he is open to reviewing any information I might bring him regarding other similar towns and how they handle chicken keeping. So far I have not found specific towns that do permit it and their rules. Any points in the right direction would be greatly appreciated. Carteret is about half hour from Manhatten, and is an urban/suburban type of town.

i need info for ocean township(waretown) if anyone can help me out.

My mother lives in Barnegat and her neighbor has a large flock of chickens, as well as geese, ducks, and horses. I have a hard time imagining you cannot have any in Waretwon, unless you are located in one of the suburban neighborhoods.

Do as everyone suggests and contact your town hall! Its heart breaking to bond with your chickens and than have to get rid of them.