Backyard chickens in Seaside, California

Yes, backyard hens are allowed in Seaside, but the rules come from the City's Zoning Ordinance rather than a stand-alone "chicken chapter." Under Seaside Municipal Code § 17.52.020 (Animal Keeping), hens are classified as a permitted household pet in residential zones, alongside cats, dogs, parrots, pigeons, and rabbits. However, roosters, geese, and peacocks are expressly prohibited in residential zones, as are animals or birds kept for commercial purposes.

The ordinance caps the total number of permitted pet animals (of any of the allowed types combined) at four per residential site — so a household keeping only hens could keep up to four hens, but that count is shared with any other permitted pets (e.g., a household with two dogs could only add two hens).

Seaside sits right on Monterey Bay, so it enjoys a mild, fog-moderated coastal climate: cool, often overcast summers (highs frequently in the 60s°F) and mild, wet winters that rarely see frost. This is gentle on chickens overall — heat stress is uncommon — but persistent damp fog and cool temperatures mean coops should have good ventilation paired with protection from chilly, moist air, and bedding needs to be managed to prevent mold and dampness.

Seaside's mix of residential neighborhoods, open coastal scrub, and nearby wildland areas (like the Fort Ord Dunes and inland hills) means backyard flocks can face raccoons, opossums, and skunks raiding at night, along with foxes and coyotes on the urban edges. Red-tailed hawks and other raptors are a real daytime threat given the area's open skies and grasslands, so a fully covered run with secure, buried hardware cloth is strongly recommended.