Backyard chickens in Mountain Brook, Alabama

Yes — keeping backyard hens is legal in Mountain Brook. According to the city's own Planning staff, the City of Mountain Brook does not have any ordinance that prohibits the keeping of chickens in any of our residential districts. There is no zoning provision or specific 'chicken ordinance' that bans hens on residential lots.

The only municipal code provision that touches on backyard fowl is a general animal-noise nuisance rule. As City Planner Dana Hazen explained, the relevant code language states: 'It shall be unlawful to confine, harbor or keep on a lot, place or premises any animal or fowl that habitually, continuously or intermittently makes or emits sounds or noises of such volume, nature or extent so as to be a public nuisance by reason of being obnoxious or annoying to the ordinary persons in that neighborhood.' In practical terms, this noise-nuisance provision is what keeps roosters out of the city, since their crowing is considered a nuisance, while quiet hens are permitted.

Mountain Brook sits in the Birmingham metro area of central Alabama, with hot, humid summers (frequently in the 90s°F) and mild, short winters that occasionally dip below freezing. The area's heavy tree cover and rolling, wooded terrain create shaded, humid microclimates that keepers should plan for with good coop ventilation in summer and simple draft protection in winter.

Mountain Brook's dense tree canopy and wooded residential lots (bordering greenways and creek corridors like Shades Creek) support healthy populations of hawks, raccoons, foxes, opossums, snakes, and coyotes — all of which are known backyard-poultry predators in the Birmingham suburbs. A fully enclosed, hardware-cloth-covered run is strongly recommended given the amount of tree cover and wildlife corridors running through the city.