Backyard chickens in Andover, Minnesota

Yes. Andover's city code permits residents to keep domestic poultry (defined as "domestic fowls, such as chickens, turkeys, ducks or geese, raised for meat or eggs") on residential property, subject to distance and permitting rules rather than a numeric hen cap.

Under the city's animal-keeping provisions, poultry must be kept at least 100 feet from any other occupied residence, and any coop or enclosure housing the birds must be at least 50 feet from any occupied residential lot. There is no set limit on the number of hens that may be kept, though the City Council can require a Conditional Use Permit if a property's poultry-keeping is deemed to affect public health, safety, or general welfare.

Roosters are treated differently: as of a 2021 city code amendment, roosters may only be kept on Andover residential property (in the R-1, R-2 and R-3 zoning districts) that is at least 5 acres in size and does not have access to municipal sewer or water. Residents who already owned roosters that met the prior code requirements were grandfathered in and may replace their birds, but may not exceed their original number or obtain new roosters if they don't meet the new acreage/utility test.

Andover, Minnesota sits in the Upper Midwest's humid continental climate, with long, cold, snowy winters (frequently below 0°F) and warm, humid summers. Coops need solid insulation, draft-proof but ventilated design, and often supplemental heat or deep-litter bedding to get flocks through winter, while summer humidity means good airflow and shade are also important.

Andover's mix of suburban neighborhoods, wetlands, and wooded corridors along the Rum River and nearby Anoka County natural areas supports raccoons, red foxes, coyotes, opossums, and birds of prey such as red-tailed hawks — all of which are known backyard-flock predators in the Twin Cities metro. Secure, fully enclosed coops and covered runs are especially important given the required 50-foot setback puts coops farther from the house and closer to yard edges or tree lines where predators travel.