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.
| Municipality | Adopted document | Key facts | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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.