Backyard chickens in Thousand Oaks, California

Yes. The City of Thousand Oaks Municipal Code allows backyard poultry as a "small animal for family use" accessory to a single-family home (§ 9-4.2106(l)). No more than twenty-four (24) birds and twelve (12) rabbits are allowed if the lot area is more than 10,000 square feet, and no more than twelve (12) birds and six (6) rabbits are allowed where the lot area is 7,000 to 10,000 square feet and the property is located in the R-1 zone. In the R-1 (standard single-family) zone, keeping birds/fowl requires an administrative Farm Animal Permit issued under § 9-4.703. All fowl, wherever kept in the city, must comply with the citywide setback rule: no animal or fowl (other than dogs and cats) may be housed, stabled, lodged, maintained, or confined within forty (40') feet of any school, religious facility, hospital, public place, business, residence, dwelling house, or other building used for human habitation, other than the personal dwelling or residence of the owner or keeper.

Thousand Oaks sits in the Conejo Valley with a warm-summer Mediterranean climate: hot, dry summers (often 90°F+ with occasional Santa Ana-driven heat spikes) and mild, wetter winters rarely dropping below freezing. Coop ventilation, shade, and ample water are more important than winterizing for cold.

Thousand Oaks borders extensive open space, hillsides, and the Santa Monica Mountains, so coyotes, bobcats, and red-tailed/Cooper's hawks are regular visitors to residential edges. Raccoons and opossums are common nighttime nuisance predators, and rat snakes/gopher snakes may raid nest boxes for eggs. A fully covered, hardware-cloth-secured run is strongly recommended given the wildlife-urban interface.