Backyard Chickens in Snellville, Georgia

Can you keep chickens in Snellville?

Thinking about keeping hens in Snellville? Unlike many nearby metro-Atlanta cities, Snellville treats backyard chickens as regulated "livestock," and its zoning code currently limits the practice to properties of five acres or more — a rule that has sparked multiple resident petitions calling for reform. Here's what Peggy's Happy Chickens found when we dug into the actual city code.

Yes – with conditions

In Snellville, chickens (and all other domestic fowl) are regulated as "livestock" under the city's Unified Development Ordinance, not as a separate backyard-poultry category. Per UDO § 206-8.16 ("Keeping of Livestock"), the keeping of poultry, ducks, geese, pigeons, peacocks and other live fowl as an accessory use to a single-family home is only a permitted "limited use" on parcels of at least 5 acres. Because most residential lots in Snellville are far smaller than 5 acres, the vast majority of homeowners in the city are currently NOT permitted to keep backyard chickens at all — this is confirmed by multiple 2024-2025 citizen petitions asking the City Council to change the rule. Unlike neighboring Gwinnett County (unincorporated area), Snellville has NOT adopted the county's tiered small-lot hen allowance, so residents cannot rely on the county's more permissive chicken rules inside city limits.

Read the ordinance ↗

The rules at a glance

Hens in city limits: Allowed
How many hens: No Set Limit
Roosters: Not Specified
Permit required: Not specified
Setback from property line: 200 ft.

Peggy knows Snellville

The rules, straight from the municipal code.

Snellville's ordinance does not create a chicken-specific permit process; instead chickens fall under the general "Keeping of Livestock" zoning standard (UDO § 206-8.16):

Minimum lot size: 5 acres. Chickens/poultry are not a permitted use as an accessory to a single-family home on smaller residential lots.
Any coop, pen, corral or other structure used to house the birds must be located at least 200 feet from any lot line.
Keeping of poultry/livestock is subject to all regulations of the Gwinnett County Health Department.
The ordinance definition explicitly includes poultry, ducks, geese, pigeons and peacocks within "livestock," and states that "the keeping of livestock does not include pets" — meaning hens cannot be kept under a general residential-pet allowance.
No numeric cap on flock size is stated for qualifying 5+ acre parcels, but the large lot size and 200-ft setback are themselves the limiting factors.
Residents on smaller lots who keep chickens have reportedly received code-violation notices to remove them, according to firsthand accounts from Snellville residents.

Where this comes from

Keeping a flock happy in Snellville

🌡️ Climate

USDA Hardiness Zone 7b/8a - Humid Subtropical

Snellville, in Gwinnett County, sits in the humid subtropical zone typical of metro Atlanta, with hot, muggy summers (frequently in the 90s°F), mild winters with occasional freezes, and heavy spring/summer rainfall. Coops should prioritize ventilation and shade to combat summer heat and humidity, while still offering a wind-blocked, dry area for the occasional winter cold snap.

🦝 Who's after your hens

HawkFoxRaccoonCoyoteSnakeOpossum

Suburban Gwinnett County properties back up to significant tree cover and greenways, so hawks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, opossums and rat snakes are all active locally. A fully enclosed, hardware-cloth-covered run with a secure, predator-proof latch is essential, especially given that Snellville's own ordinance already requires any livestock structure to sit far (200 ft) from property lines, often placing coops near wooded rear-yard buffers where predator activity is higher.

🐔 Breeds that do well here

Easter Egger, Rhode Island Red, Barred Plymouth Rock, Australorp, Buff Orpington (heat- and humidity-tolerant breeds well suited to Georgia's climate)

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

Questions people ask about Snellville

▸Can I legally keep backyard chickens in Snellville, GA?

Only if your property is at least 5 acres. Snellville's Unified Development Ordinance (§ 206-8.16) classifies chickens and other fowl as "livestock," and livestock-keeping as an accessory use to a single-family home is limited to parcels of 5 acres or larger. On smaller, typical residential lots, keeping chickens is not currently a permitted use.

▸How far must a chicken coop be from my property line in Snellville?

Per § 206-8.16, any structure, pen, corral or other building used to keep livestock (including poultry) must be located at least 200 feet from any lot line.

▸Does Snellville follow Gwinnett County's chicken rules?

No. Although unincorporated Gwinnett County allows a tiered number of hens on lots as small as 10,500 sq ft, Snellville has its own, more restrictive UDO provision requiring a 5-acre minimum lot size for any poultry-keeping, and city residents have been cited for keeping chickens on smaller lots.

▸Are roosters allowed in Snellville?

Snellville's livestock-keeping ordinance does not separately address roosters versus hens; it regulates "poultry" and "live fowl" generally as part of the livestock category permitted only on 5+ acre parcels. Because the code text obtained does not specifically call out roosters, this remains unspecified as a matter of exact code language.

▸Is there a movement to change Snellville's chicken rules?

Yes. Multiple Change.org petitions from Snellville residents (2024 and 2025) have asked the City Council to adopt a Gwinnett-County-style tiered ordinance that would let residents on lots under 5 acres keep a small number of hens, but as of this research the 5-acre minimum in § 206-8.16 remains in effect.

City rules change, and this page is a summary rather than legal advice. Please confirm with Snellville or your HOA before you order – and call us on (559) 321-7271 if you'd like a hand. Last checked September 25, 2026.