Backyard chickens in Los Angeles, California

Yes. The City of Los Angeles permits residents to keep chickens (hens) as a residential accessory use in most single-family and low-density zones. Under LAMC Sec. 12.08 ("R1" One-Family Zone), "truck gardening; the keeping of equines, poultry, rabbits and chinchillas in conjunction with the residential use of the lot" is a permitted accessory use, provided the keeping is non-commercial. The same non-commercial poultry-keeping allowance appears in the RA, RE, A1 and A2 zone sections of the Zoning Code (LAMC §§ 12.05, 12.06, 12.07, 12.07.01). The Zoning Code does not set a numeric cap on the number of hens that may be kept on a residential lot. Roosters are separately restricted city-wide: LAMC Sec. 53.71 ("Roosters – Limit") prohibits owning, possessing or keeping more than one rooster on any lot in the City, subject to narrow exceptions for licensed businesses/exhibitions, film-permit uses, and a now-closed one-time permit for pre-2009 multi-rooster owners. Minimum separation distances between animal enclosures and dwellings are not fixed numbers in the Zoning Code itself; instead LAMC Sec. 53.59 directs the Department of Animal Services to set, 'by its rules, the minimum distance from dwellings ... within which animals, and the cages, coops, or other enclosures required for their keeping may be maintained.' The Department's published setbacks (and multiple independent secondary sources) put that distance at roughly 20 ft from the owner's own dwelling, 35 ft from a neighboring dwelling, and 100 ft for a crowing rooster.

Los Angeles has a mild, dry Mediterranean climate with hot, sunny summers and cool, wet winters. Chickens generally do well year-round, but summer heat waves (often 90-100°F+) require shade, ventilation and extra water in the coop, while the region's fire-season winds and occasional Santa Ana conditions call for secure, well-ventilated but wind-resistant housing.

Coyotes are common throughout Los Angeles, including many residential neighborhoods near hillsides and parks, and are a leading threat to backyard flocks. Raccoons and opossums are frequent nighttime visitors in older, tree-lined neighborhoods, while red-tailed hawks and other raptors pose a daytime threat, especially to free-ranging birds. Skunks may target eggs and young chicks.