Backyard hens & livestock across Vermont

Can I keep chickens, bees, or livestock on my property?

21 of 277 municipalities in Vermont have an adopted ordinance on backyard hens & livestock on file. Each row links the municipality's answer page and, where transcribed, the full text of the document.

MunicipalityAdopted documentKey factsVerified
Barre
City
Code of Ordinances Ch. 3 - Animals and Fowl (poultry keeping)
adopted 2021-12-21
— 2026-09-22
Barton
Town
Joint Zoning Bylaw (Sec 322: Livestock and Pets)
adopted 2018-08-21
— 2026-09-22
Barton
Village
Joint Zoning Bylaw (Sec 322: Livestock and Pets)
adopted 2018-08-21
— 2026-09-22
Brattleboro
Town
Brattleboro Code Chapter 3 - Animals and Fowl (livestock/poultry keeping) — 2026-09-22
Burlington
City
Code of Ordinances Chapter 17 - Health, Divisions 3-5 (Chickens, Goats, Sheep) — 2026-09-22
Charleston
Town
Ordinance Regulating Domestic Animals
adopted 2025-08-28
— 2026-09-22
Derby
Town
Ordinance Regulating Domestic Animals
adopted 2024-09-30
— 2026-09-22
Essex Junction
City
Municipal Code Chapter 17 - Ordinance Regulating Keeping of Domesticated Chickens in Backyards — 2026-09-22
Grand Isle
Town
Town of Grand Isle, Vermont Livestock Ordinance — 2026-09-22
Lyndon
Town
Town of Lyndon Zoning Bylaws -- Poultry Accessory Use (8.18, backyard chickens)
adopted 2024-11-04
— 2026-09-22
Maidstone
Town
Town of Maidstone Zoning Bylaw -- Animals (§311, Lake District livestock restriction) — 2026-09-22
Marshfield
Town
Town of Marshfield Civil Ordinance #7, Regulating Livestock Running at Large, Adopted September 21, 2021
adopted 2021-09-21
— 2026-09-22
Montpelier
City
Code Ch. 8, §8-5 - Poultry: Unlawful to Keep Except in Enclosure — 2026-09-22
Old Bennington
Village
Bylaws and Ordinances (July 2024), Title 2 Ch.2 - Farm Animals — 2026-09-22
Orleans
Village
Joint Zoning Bylaw - Livestock and Pets standards (Sec 322, within the 2018 bylaw)
adopted 2018-08-21
— 2026-09-22
Proctor
Town
Proctor Zoning Regulations - keeping of chickens (within the 2017 bylaw)
adopted 2017-03-13
— 2026-09-22
Rutland
City
Revised Ordinances of the City of Rutland (Title 17 Ch.3 SS3121-3122 - keeping of livestock and fowl as public health nuisance) — 2026-09-22
Sandgate
Town
Ordinance -- Restraint of Large Domestic Animals (No. 206.01)
+1 more
adopted 2011-07-18
— 2026-09-22
South Burlington
City
Code Ch. 6, Art. III - Chickens — 2026-09-22
Sutton
Town
Town of Sutton Unified Development Bylaws - Raising of Livestock as Accessory Use
adopted 2018-04-26
— 2026-09-22
Williston
Town
WDB Chapter 20 — Residential Improvements — §20.12 Livestock
adopted 2026-07-21
— 2026-09-22

Nothing on file for backyard hens & livestock

Absence here is explicit, not a gap: each municipality below was checked, and its status says why there is no document.

Other ordinances on file, none on this topic (214) — Addison, Alburgh, Alburgh, Andover, Arlington, Athens, Baltimore, Barnard, Barnet, Barre, Bellows Falls, Belvidere, Bennington, Benson, Berkshire, Berlin, Bethel, Bolton, Bradford, Brandon, Bridgewater, Bridport, Brighton, Bristol, Brookfield, Brookline, Brownington, Brunswick, Burke, Cabot, Cambridge, Canaan, Cavendish, Charlotte, Chelsea, Chester, Chittenden, Clarendon, Colchester, Concord, Corinth, Coventry, Craftsbury, Danby, Derby Line, Dorset, Dummerston, Duxbury, East Montpelier, Eden, Elmore, Enosburg Falls, Essex, Fair Haven, Fairfax, Fairfield, Fairlee, Ferrisburgh, Fletcher, Franklin, Glover, Grafton, Granville, Greensboro, Groton, Guildhall, Guilford, Halifax, Hancock, Hardwick, Hartford, Hartland, Highgate, Hinesburg, Holland, Huntington, Hyde Park, Hyde Park, Isle La Motte, Jacksonville, Jamaica, Jay, Johnson, Johnson, Killington, Kirby, Landgrove, Leicester, Lemington, Lincoln, Londonderry, Lowell, Ludlow, Ludlow, Lunenburg, Lyndonville, Manchester, Manchester, Marlboro, Middlebury, Middlesex, Middletown Springs, Milton, Monkton, Montgomery, Moretown, Morgan, Morristown, Morrisville, Mount Holly, New Haven, Newbury, Newfane, Newfane, Newport, Newport, North Bennington, North Troy, Northfield, Norton, Norwich, Orwell, Panton, Pawlet, Peacham, Peru, Pittsford, Plainfield, Plymouth, Pomfret, Poultney, Pownal, Putney, Randolph, Reading, Readsboro, Richford, Richmond, Ripton, Rochester, Rockingham, Roxbury, Royalton, Rupert, Rutland, Ryegate, Salisbury, Shaftsbury, Sharon, Sheffield, Shelburne, Sheldon, Shoreham, Shrewsbury, South Hero, Springfield, St. Albans, St. Albans, St. George, St. Johnsbury, Stamford, Stannard, Starksboro, Stockbridge, Stowe, Strafford, Stratton, Sunderland, Swanton, Swanton, Thetford, Tinmouth, Topsham, Townshend, Troy, Tunbridge, Underhill, Vernon, Vershire, Waitsfield, Walden, Wallingford, Wardsboro, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Waterford, Waterville, Weathersfield, Wells, West Burke, West Fairlee, West Haven, West Rutland, West Windsor, Westfield, Westford, Westminster, Westmore, Weybridge, Wheelock, Whiting, Whitingham, Williamstown, Wilmington, Windham, Windsor, Winhall, Wolcott, Woodbury, Woodford, Woodstock, Woodstock, Worcester.

No ordinances published online (29, verified negatives) — Albany, Albany, Bloomfield, Braintree, Castleton, Cornwall, Danville, Derby Center, Dover, East Haven, Fayston, Georgia, Goshen, Granby, Hubbardton, Irasburg, Jeffersonville, Marshfield, Mount Tabor, Newark, Newbury, Saxtons River, Searsburg, Sudbury, Victory, Waltham, Wells River, Westminster, Weston.

Unconfirmed (13, leads but nothing verified) — Bakersfield, Calais, Cambridge, Enosburgh, Ira, Jericho, Mendon, North Hero, Orange, Pittsfield, Poultney, Vergennes, Winooski.

Machine-readable: backyard-hens.json · Backyard hens & livestock across every jurisdiction · All Vermont municipalities