Backyard chickens in Beaverton, Oregon

Yes. Beaverton's Municipal Code Chapter 5.09 (Urban Chickens) allows residents to keep a limited number of hens on qualifying residential property. Chickens may only be kept on property that is at least 5,000 square feet and occupied by a detached single-family dwelling or duplex, and must be the owner's principal residence (renters need the property owner's written permission) (§ 5.09.015). No more than four hens may be kept on any one property, and roosters are prohibited entirely (§ 5.09.020, § 5.09.030). Chickens must be kept for personal, noncommercial use only — selling eggs or breeding/slaughtering chickens for commercial purposes is not allowed, and on-site slaughter of any chicken is prohibited (§ 5.09.030).

Beaverton, located in Oregon's Willamette Valley just west of Portland, has a mild, wet-winter/dry-summer climate typical of western Oregon. Winters are cool and rainy (rarely below freezing for long), while summers are warm and dry. Coop design should prioritize good ventilation and moisture control to handle the long rainy season from October through May, while also providing shade for the warmer, drier summer months.

Suburban Beaverton backyards can attract raccoons, opossums, and skunks that are skilled at exploiting weak points in coops, as well as red-tailed hawks and other raptors that hunt free-ranging birds during the day. Coyotes and foxes are also present in the wooded parks and greenways around Washington County. The City's own enclosure standard — requiring coops to prevent entry of rodents and predators and to effectively contain and protect the chickens — reflects these local risks.