Backyard chickens in Salem, Oregon
Everything you need to know before you start a backyard flock in Salem – the rules, the climate and the neighbors with teeth.
Can you keep chickens in Salem?
Thinking about keeping a backyard flock in Salem, Oregon? The City's Poultry Keeping Rules make it easy to raise chickens, ducks, and other small domestic fowl without a permit, provided you follow the maximum bird count, keep roosters off the property, and give your flock a proper coop and runway set back from neighboring homes.
Yes – with conditions
Yes, backyard poultry keeping is allowed in Salem, Oregon. Per the City's official Poultry Keeping Rules (Salem Revised Code § 50.710), you can keep domesticated birds for eggs or meat, including chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, pheasants, pigeons, quail, partridges, doves, and similar birds for personal use, as long as you follow city guidelines. However, geese, turkeys, emus, ostriches, and similarly sized birds are prohibited. No permit or license is needed to keep poultry, but you must maintain your poultry facility to prevent noise or odors that could disturb your neighbors. You may have a maximum of twelve poultry total per property, and roosters are not allowed. Properties zoned Residential Agriculture (10,000+ sq ft) or Exclusive Farm Use are exempt from these standard guidelines.
The rules at a glance
- Hens in city limits
- Allowed
- How many hens
- 12
- Roosters
- No
- Permit required
- No
- Permit cost
- Not specified
- Setback from property line
- 25 ft.
Peggy knows Salem
The rules, straight from the municipal code.
Salem defines a “poultry facility” as including both a coop and a runway: Coop: A roofed shelter that cannot exceed 120 square feet, and Runway: A fully enclosed fenced area connected to the coop, providing an indoor and outdoor environment for the birds.
- Space requirements: Facilities for all other poultry, including chickens and ducks, must provide at least six square feet of run space and at least three square feet of coop space per bird (quail and similarly small birds need only one square foot of coop space per bird).
- Confinement: Poultry must remain confined within the facility at all times, except when under the control of an owner or custodian, and the facility must not produce noise or odors that create a nuisance for neighbors.
- Placement: The facility must be located in the rear yard, at least three feet away from any other building on the property, and at least 25 feet away from a residence on an adjacent property.
- Ducks: If you keep ducks, your facility must include a water source such as a clean supply of water in a pond, wading pool, tub, or other container large enough for the duck to fit its entire body and deep enough for it to submerge its head.
- Exemptions: None of these rules apply if the property is zoned Residential Agriculture (RA) with a lot size of at least 10,000 square feet or zoned Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) of any size.
Where this comes from
Keeping a flock happy in Salem
🌡️ Climate
USDA Hardiness Zone 8b
Salem sits in the Willamette Valley and falls within USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 8b, characterized by mild, wet winters and warm, relatively dry summers typical of a marine west coast climate. Coops should prioritize good drainage, ventilation, and moisture control to handle Salem's rainy season, while providing shade for the drier summer months.
🦝 Who's after your hens
Backyard flocks in Salem face a range of local predators. Wildlife control resources note that the state has raccoons, weasels, skunks, bats, opossums, beavers, rats, squirrels, nutria, pocket gophers, and a variety of mouse species, and coyote sightings in Salem neighborhoods have been increasing, with police issuing warnings about a worsening coyote problem in some areas. Hawks are also a persistent aerial threat to free-ranging birds, so secure, covered runs with buried hardware-cloth fencing are strongly recommended.
🐔 Breeds that do well here
Wyandotte, Australorp, Plymouth Rock, Orpington, Sussex (cold- and rain-tolerant, dual-purpose breeds well suited to the wet Willamette Valley climate)
Our package comes with two Rhode Island Reds – hardy in heat and cold, and friendly with kids.
Questions people ask about Salem
▸Do I need a permit to keep chickens in Salem?
No. No permit or license is needed to keep poultry, but you must maintain your poultry facility to prevent noise or odors that could disturb your neighbors.
▸How many chickens can I keep in Salem?
You may have a maximum of twelve poultry total per property, and this cap applies collectively to chickens, ducks, and other allowed domestic fowl on the property.
▸Are roosters allowed in Salem?
No. City rules state plainly that roosters are not allowed anywhere within Salem city limits.
▸How far from my neighbor's house does my coop need to be?
Your poultry facility must be located in the rear yard, at least three feet away from any other building on the property, and at least 25 feet away from a residence on an adjacent property.
▸Are there exemptions from these poultry rules?
Yes. Properties zoned Residential Agriculture (RA) with a lot size of at least 10,000 square feet or zoned Exclusive Farm Use (EFU) of any size do not have to follow the standard guidelines.
City rules change, and this page is a summary rather than legal advice. Please confirm with Salem or your HOA before you order – and call us on (559) 321-7271 if you'd like a hand. Last checked September 7, 2026.
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