Backyard chickens in Brookhaven, Mississippi

Yes, chickens (kept as "fowl" or as part of an agricultural use) can be kept in Brookhaven, Mississippi, but the City's Zoning Ordinance restricts this use to property zoned A-1 (Agricultural). Under the Zoning Ordinance's definitions article, the raising of chickens, fowl, or livestock is defined as an "agricultural" use, and that use is only permitted "in any A-1 zone providing such use does not constitute a nuisance or health hazard."

This means that on standard residential-zoned lots inside the city limits, keeping backyard fowl is not a use of right; the property must carry (or be part of) an A-1 agricultural zoning designation for chicken-keeping to be clearly authorized under the code. Separately, the City's noise/nuisance chapter makes it unlawful for the keeping of any animal, bird, or fowl to cause frequent or long-continued noise that disturbs the comfort of persons in the vicinity, which applies to roosters and noisy flocks regardless of zone.

Because the retrieved code text does not set out a specific numeric hen cap, rooster-specific ban, coop setback distance, or permit-application process for fowl (unlike some neighboring Mississippi cities), those specific operational details were not found in the sections we were able to access and should be confirmed with Brookhaven's Building/Zoning Department before establishing a flock.

Brookhaven, in southwest Mississippi's Lincoln County, has hot, humid summers and mild, wet winters typical of the Deep South. Flock owners should prioritize shade, cross-ventilation, and predator-proofing given the region's heat, humidity, and heavy rainfall.

Mississippi's wooded and rural-adjacent landscapes around Brookhaven support healthy populations of raccoons, foxes, coyotes, hawks, rat snakes, and opossums, all of which target coops at night or during free-range hours. Secure wire mesh, buried hardware cloth aprons, and automatic coop doors are strongly recommended.