Backyard chicken ordinances in Texas

[Sierra Juarez]

Hello, all! My name is Sierra Juarez, and I'm a journalist reporting on the Texas legislative session for the state's NPR stations. I'm working on a story about proposed legislation concerning backyard chickens in the state. I'm here to crowdsource information about this legislation. If anyone has information about current ordinances, previous legislation, or anything else you'd like to share with me, I would be very thankful for your help. (Also interested in meeting up with someone with backyard chickens in Austin, San Antonio or anywhere else in the Central Texas area. If you'd be willing to chat with me, please let me know!)

 

[RUNuts]

Hello and welcome,
Please keep us updated on the ordinances. Thank you for the link.

If you post your questions, many of us would answer from all over the state.

 

[Sierra Juarez]

Thank you for your response! I'm most interested in getting a better understanding of what the ordinances are in the state right now. I'm also wondering what this bill would mean for Texans who own backyard chickens? Would it change anything for people in parts of the state? (For example would it make ordinances more lenient?)

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm not in Texas but as a poultry educator and organizer of a chicken meetup group in an area with 94 cities in one county in addition to many other cities with wide ranging animal ordinances I've worked with many area cities' boards in an attempt to get chickens legalized or limit restrictions.
I'm willing to chat about what I've learned.

It was a local journalist who thrust me into the fray.

 

[Kiki]

Chickens are allowed in certain Texas cities. I believe each city has it's own 'rules.'

Are you talking about the 'chicken' bill that did not pass last year?

 

[Celticdragonfly]

Where I am, we can only keep 3 hens. That's really limited! 6 would be an improvement for me. I've emailed my senator and representative, talked about this and expressed why I want it, and asked them to vote for it and support it.

 

[maybe]

Thank you for your response! I'm most interested in getting a better understanding of what the ordinances are in the state right now. I'm also wondering what this bill would mean for Texans who own backyard chickens? Would it change anything for people in parts of the state? (For example would it make ordinances more lenient?)

I live near downtown Houston. Our city ordinance allows up to 30 chickens provided the coop is a minimum of 100' from the nearest neighboring building and the lot is a minimum of 65'x125'. Those standards effectively prohibit keeping chickens legally, as a typical city lot is 5,000 square feet.