Ameisen
In the Brooder
My wife and I have been looking for houses, and I've spent numerous hours going over municipal and zoning codes as well as contacting cities. This is what I've learned as I've decided to share it. I don't have all the information recorded - use it as a guideline and perform your own research. My research here is not complete.
Note, when I refer to ducks, I generally mean any non-chicken fowl. I didn't search for roosters as I don't want roosters. When I say that the code does not mention chickens or ducks, it does not mention them in any meaningful capacity, including livestock, "farm animals", etc. Usually if the code does not mention something, it is allowed. It is wise to confirm with said town/village/city yourself.
Cities/Towns/Villages:
Fowl allowed:
Hinsdale - neither chickens nor ducks are prohibited. Confirmed via contact with Hinsdale.
Countryside - 4 hens max, must be 10' from side lot-line, 5' from rear lot-line, and 25' from any other house. Code does not mention ducks.
Downers Grove - 4 hens max, must be 50' from property line unless you have a permit. Ducks not allowed.
Palos Park - 5 hens max. Code does not mention ducks.
Lemont - One acre or more of land required. Chickens and ducks allowed.
North Riverside - Must be 100' from any other residence or the street. Chickens and ducks allowed.
Naperville - Must be 30' from any other residence. You may have 8 chickens or ducks total.
North Barrington - 40,000 sqft or more required. 6 hens max. Code does not mention ducks.
Westmont - 6 hens max. Must be 20' from property line. Code does not mention ducks.
Bannockburn - One acre or more of land required. Max 5 hens. Ducks not allowed.
Warrenville - 10,000 sqft or more required. Max 10 hens. Code does not mention ducks.
Joliet - Chickens and ducks are allowed.
Riverwoods - One acre or more of land required. Max 10 hens.
West Dundee - Not permitted in R-5 zones. Max 4 hens and ducks total.
Worth - Maximum 2 hens and ducks total.
Evanston - Maximum 6 hens, must be 10' from own residence, 3' from property lines. Coop + run cannot be larger than 40% of rear yard. Did not check for ducks.
Melrose Park - Coop must be 75' from any adjacent residence. Did not check for ducks.
La Grange - Max 4 hens. Did not check for ducks.
Tinley Park - Must be 100' from any school, church, other residence, or street. Chickens and ducks allowed.
Palos Hills - Max 4 hens. Did not check for ducks.
St. Charles - Max 6 chickens. Must be 5' from any property lined. Must not be visible from any public street or adjoining lot. Ducks are allowed by virtue of not being mentioned. City has been very helpful in e-mails.
Batavia - Max 8 hens. Must be 30' from any adjacent residential structure. Any number of ducks may be kept if they are 200' from any residential structure, 200' from another residential lot, and 200' from any street or alley.
Chesterton, IN - Allowed. Did not check for ducks or restrictions.
Fowl maybe allowed:
Northfield - The municipal code does not mention chicken or ducks.
Winnetka - The municipal code is unclear as to whether you can have shelters or not.
Western Springs - The code requires fowl (any fowl) to be 75' from any house, and requires 200 sqft of poultry yard (run?) per fowl.
Orland Park - The municipal code is unclear - it does not prohibit fowl (and in fact gives requirements for their numbers) but appears to prohibit coops.
Green Oaks - The municipal code does not mention chickens or ducks.
Lake Barrington - The municipal code does not mention chickens or ducks.
Kildeer - The municipal code does not mention chickens or ducks.
Alsip - The municipal code does not mention chickens or ducks.
Barrington Hills - The municipal code was unclear.
Orland Hill - Must be 300' from any residence.
Elgin - There are a limited number of permits for keeping chickens. Unlikely to be able to keep. Unsure about ducks.
Aurora - One acre or more, maybe?
Schaumburg - Requires a special use permit, which involves a public hearing. Unknown as per ducks.
Unknown:
Homer Glen - I could not load their site or municipal code.
Rosemont - I cannot find their municipal code.
Palos Heights - They prohibit livestock, but do not specify fowl or poultry as livestock. Unclear.
Wayne
Prospect Heights
Fowl prohibited (on most of these I did not check for non-chicken fowl, because I am lazy but I also suspected that they would be generally hostile to it):
Addison
Elmhurst
Lombard
Oak Brook
Glen Ellyn
Wheaton
Winfield
Lisle
Geneva
West Chicago
Carol Stream
Bloomingdale
Roselle
Bartlett - Unless you have more than 10 acres.
Berwyn - Though there appears to be discussion about legalization. Did not check for ducks.
Carpentersville
Hoffman Estates
Barrington
Streamwood
Bartlett - probably. The code is slightly unclear, and they have not responded to my inquiries.
South Barrington
Inverness
Palatine
Rolling Meadows
Arlington Heights
Mount Prospect
Wheeling
Des Plaines
Northbrook
Glenview
Niles
Skokie
Oswego
Hampshire
Montgomery
Cary
Crystal Lake
Crete
Portage, IN
Dyer, IN
St. John, IN
Crown Point, IN
Porter, IN
Highland, IN
Schererville, IN
Counties (for unincorporated homes - as usual, consult the county for specifics about any lot, as it could be in a PUD or something. Also did not check ducks.):
DuPage County - Must have at least 5 acres of land.
Kane County - Must have 1 acre of land for R and E districts. F districts have size limitations. Not allowed on lots in PUD zones. Chickens must be housed/yarded 100' from any adjacent residence.
Cook County - Unclear. Have not responded to my inquiries.
Kendall County - Allowed on R-1 with more than 1 acre, 12 hens max. More than 5 acres, consult this document. Also consult that document for numbers of other animals, including ducks. Allowed on R-2 and R-3 with more than 1 acre (12 hens max), no other poultry or fowl allowed. Must be 10' from adjacent residential lots. Not permitted in any other zones.
DeKalb County - Must have 10,000 sqft or more. Maximum one hen per 2,000 sqft. Must be 20' from any property line, and 50' from any other residence. Consult amended code for more details.
Will County - Must be 50' from adjacent residences. Minimum lot size 12,500 sqft. Further details unknown.
McHenry County - Max 6 hens. Coops/runs must be 10' from any lot line and 10' from any structure. Must be in rear yard.
Lake County, IL - Must have 10,890 sqft. 6 hens max.
Lake County, IN - All fowl are prohibited.
Porter County, IN - All fowl are permitted as far as I can tell via reading the code and UDO. Contact the county to be sure. Area used for chickens cannot exceed 40% of lot. I am not confident that I am correct here. Certain zones allow "hobby farming", which mentions poultry, whereas all zones allow "raising farm animals".
Note, when I refer to ducks, I generally mean any non-chicken fowl. I didn't search for roosters as I don't want roosters. When I say that the code does not mention chickens or ducks, it does not mention them in any meaningful capacity, including livestock, "farm animals", etc. Usually if the code does not mention something, it is allowed. It is wise to confirm with said town/village/city yourself.
Cities/Towns/Villages:
Fowl allowed:
Hinsdale - neither chickens nor ducks are prohibited. Confirmed via contact with Hinsdale.
Countryside - 4 hens max, must be 10' from side lot-line, 5' from rear lot-line, and 25' from any other house. Code does not mention ducks.
Downers Grove - 4 hens max, must be 50' from property line unless you have a permit. Ducks not allowed.
Palos Park - 5 hens max. Code does not mention ducks.
Lemont - One acre or more of land required. Chickens and ducks allowed.
North Riverside - Must be 100' from any other residence or the street. Chickens and ducks allowed.
Naperville - Must be 30' from any other residence. You may have 8 chickens or ducks total.
North Barrington - 40,000 sqft or more required. 6 hens max. Code does not mention ducks.
Westmont - 6 hens max. Must be 20' from property line. Code does not mention ducks.
Bannockburn - One acre or more of land required. Max 5 hens. Ducks not allowed.
Warrenville - 10,000 sqft or more required. Max 10 hens. Code does not mention ducks.
Joliet - Chickens and ducks are allowed.
Riverwoods - One acre or more of land required. Max 10 hens.
West Dundee - Not permitted in R-5 zones. Max 4 hens and ducks total.
Worth - Maximum 2 hens and ducks total.
Evanston - Maximum 6 hens, must be 10' from own residence, 3' from property lines. Coop + run cannot be larger than 40% of rear yard. Did not check for ducks.
Melrose Park - Coop must be 75' from any adjacent residence. Did not check for ducks.
La Grange - Max 4 hens. Did not check for ducks.
Tinley Park - Must be 100' from any school, church, other residence, or street. Chickens and ducks allowed.
Palos Hills - Max 4 hens. Did not check for ducks.
St. Charles - Max 6 chickens. Must be 5' from any property lined. Must not be visible from any public street or adjoining lot. Ducks are allowed by virtue of not being mentioned. City has been very helpful in e-mails.
Batavia - Max 8 hens. Must be 30' from any adjacent residential structure. Any number of ducks may be kept if they are 200' from any residential structure, 200' from another residential lot, and 200' from any street or alley.
Chesterton, IN - Allowed. Did not check for ducks or restrictions.
Fowl maybe allowed:
Northfield - The municipal code does not mention chicken or ducks.
Winnetka - The municipal code is unclear as to whether you can have shelters or not.
Western Springs - The code requires fowl (any fowl) to be 75' from any house, and requires 200 sqft of poultry yard (run?) per fowl.
Orland Park - The municipal code is unclear - it does not prohibit fowl (and in fact gives requirements for their numbers) but appears to prohibit coops.
Green Oaks - The municipal code does not mention chickens or ducks.
Lake Barrington - The municipal code does not mention chickens or ducks.
Kildeer - The municipal code does not mention chickens or ducks.
Alsip - The municipal code does not mention chickens or ducks.
Barrington Hills - The municipal code was unclear.
Orland Hill - Must be 300' from any residence.
Elgin - There are a limited number of permits for keeping chickens. Unlikely to be able to keep. Unsure about ducks.
Aurora - One acre or more, maybe?
Schaumburg - Requires a special use permit, which involves a public hearing. Unknown as per ducks.
Unknown:
Homer Glen - I could not load their site or municipal code.
Rosemont - I cannot find their municipal code.
Palos Heights - They prohibit livestock, but do not specify fowl or poultry as livestock. Unclear.
Wayne
Prospect Heights
Fowl prohibited (on most of these I did not check for non-chicken fowl, because I am lazy but I also suspected that they would be generally hostile to it):
Addison
Elmhurst
Lombard
Oak Brook
Glen Ellyn
Wheaton
Winfield
Lisle
Geneva
West Chicago
Carol Stream
Bloomingdale
Roselle
Bartlett - Unless you have more than 10 acres.
Berwyn - Though there appears to be discussion about legalization. Did not check for ducks.
Carpentersville
Hoffman Estates
Barrington
Streamwood
Bartlett - probably. The code is slightly unclear, and they have not responded to my inquiries.
South Barrington
Inverness
Palatine
Rolling Meadows
Arlington Heights
Mount Prospect
Wheeling
Des Plaines
Northbrook
Glenview
Niles
Skokie
Oswego
Hampshire
Montgomery
Cary
Crystal Lake
Crete
Portage, IN
Dyer, IN
St. John, IN
Crown Point, IN
Porter, IN
Highland, IN
Schererville, IN
Counties (for unincorporated homes - as usual, consult the county for specifics about any lot, as it could be in a PUD or something. Also did not check ducks.):
DuPage County - Must have at least 5 acres of land.
Kane County - Must have 1 acre of land for R and E districts. F districts have size limitations. Not allowed on lots in PUD zones. Chickens must be housed/yarded 100' from any adjacent residence.
Cook County - Unclear. Have not responded to my inquiries.
Kendall County - Allowed on R-1 with more than 1 acre, 12 hens max. More than 5 acres, consult this document. Also consult that document for numbers of other animals, including ducks. Allowed on R-2 and R-3 with more than 1 acre (12 hens max), no other poultry or fowl allowed. Must be 10' from adjacent residential lots. Not permitted in any other zones.
DeKalb County - Must have 10,000 sqft or more. Maximum one hen per 2,000 sqft. Must be 20' from any property line, and 50' from any other residence. Consult amended code for more details.
Will County - Must be 50' from adjacent residences. Minimum lot size 12,500 sqft. Further details unknown.
McHenry County - Max 6 hens. Coops/runs must be 10' from any lot line and 10' from any structure. Must be in rear yard.
Lake County, IL - Must have 10,890 sqft. 6 hens max.
Lake County, IN - All fowl are prohibited.
Porter County, IN - All fowl are permitted as far as I can tell via reading the code and UDO. Contact the county to be sure. Area used for chickens cannot exceed 40% of lot. I am not confident that I am correct here. Certain zones allow "hobby farming", which mentions poultry, whereas all zones allow "raising farm animals".
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