Backyard Chickens in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Can you keep chickens in Fort Lauderdale?

Thinking about a backyard flock in Fort Lauderdale? Unfortunately, the City of Lauderdale's animal code makes keeping chickens on a typical residential lot unlawful, despite years of resident advocacy to change the rules. Here's what the actual ordinance says — and what it would take for the law to change.

Not straightforward

No. Fort Lauderdale's Code of Ordinances, Chapter 6 (Animals), effectively bans keeping chickens on standard residential property. Section 6-5 makes it unlawful to keep any animal within 75 feet of an inhabited residence in a nonresidential district, and it explicitly excludes chickens, roosters, and geese from the definition of pets that may otherwise be kept in or about a home. A separate general animal provision further limits livestock and 'any other animal' (besides dogs and cats) to property zoned A-1 Agricultural, which excludes essentially all residential neighborhoods in the city. Roosters are singled out separately: it shall be unlawful for any person to keep or cause to be kept within the corporate limits of the city any rooster closer than one hundred (100) yards from any inhabited dwelling other than the dwelling of the owner thereof or the person keeping the same. Local advocacy (the 'Fort Lauderdale Hen Project') has pushed unsuccessfully for years to legalize backyard hens, but as of this writing no change has passed and the city remains one of the stricter chicken bans among major Florida cities.

Read the ordinance ↗

The rules at a glance

Hens in city limits: Restricted
How many hens: Not Allowed
Roosters: No
Permit required: No
Setback from property line: 75 ft.

Peggy knows Fort Lauderdale

The rules, straight from the municipal code.

Because chickens are not lawfully kept on residential lots, there are no residential coop-permitting provisions. However, the Code does contain sanitation rules that would apply anywhere fowl are found on a property (e.g., agriculturally zoned land):

Whenever the keeping or maintenance of any animal or fowl is permitted upon any lands in the city, the owner, agent, employee, servant or other person having charge of the premises and of such animal or fowl, shall clean the pen, coop, sty, or other enclosure where such animals or fowl roost or are kept, each fourth day, shall spray and disinfect such area each fourth day, and shall remove and destroy all refuse, droppings, manure, feathers, or other matters cleaned from such pens or enclosures. (§ 6-8)
Animals, including fowl, may not be kept within seventy-five (75) feet by air-line measurement of any inhabited residence or dwelling in a nonresidential district of the city (§ 6-5).
Roosters may not be kept closer than one hundred (100) yards from any inhabited dwelling other than the owner's own dwelling (§ 6-7), a distance that is impossible to meet on nearly any city lot.
A broader provision (quoted by residents researching the code) prohibits keeping 'livestock ... or any other animal, except dogs and cats' in any district not zoned A-1 Agricultural, and separately bars keeping fowl in unsanitary conditions that create odors or a nuisance.

Residents interested in a future flock should monitor the city's Planning & Zoning Board, which has previously reviewed (but not passed) a proposed Urban Agriculture Ordinance that would have legalized hens.

Where this comes from

Keeping a flock happy in Fort Lauderdale

🌡️ Climate

USDA Hardiness Zone 10b/11 (Humid Subtropical/Tropical Coastal)

Fort Lauderdale has a hot, humid, tropical-leaning climate with mild winters and long, intensely hot and humid summers, plus an active June–November hurricane season. Any coop design (where legally permitted elsewhere in Florida) needs maximum ventilation, shade, and elevated, well-drained flooring to cope with heat stress, heavy rain, and storm surge risk.

🦝 Who's after your hens

RaccoonHawkOpossumSnake

Raccoons are considered the top backyard poultry predator statewide and are skilled climbers and diggers, while red-shouldered and Cooper's hawks are common aerial threats requiring covered runs. Rat snakes can take eggs and chicks and can fit through small gaps, and opossums are nocturnal opportunists that target eggs and young birds. Secure, buried hardware-cloth fencing and fully covered runs are recommended wherever poultry-keeping is legal in the region.

🐔 Breeds that do well here

Heat-tolerant breeds such as Leghorns, Easter Eggers, Rhode Island Reds, and Australorps generally do best in South Florida's climate where chickens are legally permitted.

Our package comes with two Rhode Island Reds – hardy in heat and cold, and friendly with kids.

Questions people ask about Fort Lauderdale

▸Can I legally keep even a couple of hens in my Fort Lauderdale backyard?

Generally, no. City code excludes chickens from the animals that may be kept as household pets and restricts livestock/other animals to land zoned A-1 Agricultural, which covers essentially no standard residential lots in the city.

▸Are roosters allowed anywhere in the city?

The code prohibits keeping a rooster closer than 100 yards from any inhabited dwelling other than the owner's own, a distance that is impractical to satisfy on virtually any city lot, so roosters are effectively banned as well.

▸Has Fort Lauderdale considered legalizing backyard hens?

Yes. Local advocates, including the 'Fort Lauderdale Hen Project,' pressed the city's Sustainability Advisory Board and Planning & Zoning Board to adopt an urban-agriculture ordinance allowing hens (no roosters), but the proposal met resistance from commissioners and has not been enacted.

▸What happens if I keep chickens anyway and a neighbor complains?

Code Enforcement can act on violations of the animal code, and the ordinance separately defines nuisance conditions—including odors, noise, or unsanitary keeping of fowl—as unlawful, which can trigger citations even if the numeric distance rules are debated.

▸Do nearby cities in Broward County allow chickens even though Fort Lauderdale doesn't?

Some neighboring municipalities are more permissive; for example, secondary sources report that Oakland Park allows chickens if kept in coops and not allowed to roam freely, so rules can differ significantly just across the city line.

City rules change, and this page is a summary rather than legal advice. Please confirm with Fort Lauderdale or your HOA before you order – and call us on (559) 321-7271 if you'd like a hand. Last checked September 7, 2026.