Backyard chickens and livestock — Palm Bay, Florida

Yes: Palm Bay's Land Development Code allows up to four chickens on single-family lots in the RE, RS-1, RS-2, RS-3 and SRE zoning districts, under section 174.005.

The rule sits in Chapter 174 of the Palm Bay Land Development Code, the chapter on accessory, temporary and other uses adopted on September 19, 2024. Section 174.005, titled Backyard Chickens, says up to four (4) chickens may be kept on single family lots in the RE, RS-1, RS-2, RS-3 and SRE districts, subject to five conditions (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 174, page 6). Those five are the estate, suburban estate and single-family districts in the Palm Bay zoning list.

The same section opens with a broader ban. No person may keep any farm animal in any Palm Bay zoning category outside the RR and GU districts, except as section 174.005 allows for chickens or section 174.012 allows for pigeons (s. 174.005(A)). That means a backyard flock is legal on a single-family lot in Palm Bay only within the four-bird cap, while goats, pigs, horses or cattle need rural zoning.

Chapter 173 names the districts involved: GU General Use Holding District, RR Rural Residential, RE Estate Residential, SRE Suburban Residential Estate, and RS-1, RS-2 and RS-3 Single-Family Residential (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 173, page 4). Multifamily, mobile home and commercial districts in Palm Bay are not on the chicken list at all. Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the City of Palm Bay website, against the adopted Chapter 174 text.

Palm Bay allows hens only, bans roosters and breeding, and requires the birds to be caged at all times in a coop that meets the city's animal enclosure standards.

Each line comes straight from section 174.005(B) of the Palm Bay code: hens only may be kept and roosters are prohibited; chickens must be caged at all times; breeding of chickens is prohibited; dead chickens shall be immediately removed; and the cage or coop and surrounding areas shall be clean and properly maintained (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 174, page 6). Under that wording, a Palm Bay hen loose in the yard does not meet the code.

The breeding ban means a Palm Bay flock cannot hatch its own replacements. The code sets no permit or registration step for the four hens in section 174.005; the limits on number, sex and housing are the rule.

A Palm Bay coop counts as an animal cage or enclosure, limited to 15 feet by 10 feet and 6 feet tall, set back at least 10 feet from side lines and 15 feet from the rear line.

Section 174.002(H) of the Palm Bay code limits animal cages or enclosures accessory to residential uses to fifteen (15) feet in length by ten (10) feet in width, a maximum height of six (6) feet, a ten (10) foot side setback and a fifteen (15) foot rear setback (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 174, page 4). Table 174-1 repeats the setbacks for animal enclosures. The chicken section points back to these criteria, so a coop that is 16 feet long or sits 8 feet off a side line does not comply.

Large lots get a pass on the size and setback box. Properties zoned GU, RE, SRE and RR encompassing two (2) acres or more are exempt from subsection (H) (s. 174.002(H)). The exemption does not name the RS-1, RS-2 or RS-3 districts, so on those Palm Bay lots the coop rules apply in full whatever the lot size, and the 15-foot rear setback keeps a coop off the back property line.

Placement interacts with Palm Bay drainage too. Fences inside utility or drainage easements must be removable on five days' written notice from the city under section 174.007(E), and owners in rural RR zoning who must keep livestock from running at large under chapter 588, Florida Statutes, are exempt from the city's fence type and height rules (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 174, page 8).

Livestock belongs in Palm Bay's two rural districts, GU and RR, where Table 173-1 allows horses, ponies, cows and other livestock at no more than one animal for each half acre.

Table 173-1 of the Palm Bay Land Development Code lists the keeping or raising for sale of horses, ponies, cows and other livestock as a permitted use in the GU and RR columns, provided the total of all such animals does not exceed 1 for each half acre of lot area (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 173, page 9). Agriculture and the keeping of small domestic animals, birds or fish are permitted in the same two districts. Small farm animals such as goats, chickens and pigs are capped at 5 for each half acre (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 173, page 10).

The lot sizes come from Table 173-4, which sets a 5-acre minimum lot in GU and 1 acre in RR (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 173, page 16). Acreage cannot be double counted. Note 4 to Table 173-1 says land used to support one type of animal cannot in turn be counted to permit further animals: an acre allows 2 horses, but not an additional 5 goats (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 173, page 11). Palm Bay states the rule exists to protect the health of the animals and the residential character of the neighborhood.

The district intent statements explain the split. The GU district is meant for large undeveloped or sparsely developed areas held until a specific development request comes in, and RR provides single-family homes combined with limited agricultural activities within a rural setting (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 173, page 7). Florida law defines livestock as all animals of the equine, bovine or swine class, including goats, sheep, mules, horses, hogs, cattle and ostriches (s. 588.13, F.S.), along with other grazing animals.

Palm Bay allows up to 100 pigeons on a single-family lot with a primary structure in the RE, RS-1, RS-2, RS-3 and SRE districts, and no more than four dogs per dwelling unit.

Pigeons are the one other farm-type bird the Palm Bay code names. Section 174.012 allows pigeon keeping as an accessory use in the same five districts as chickens, with a maximum of one hundred (100) pigeons, and no more than forty (40) released at any one time for exercise or training (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 174, page 12). No more than two flights are allowed in a 24-hour period, birds may fly only between sunrise and sunset, aviaries must meet the same section 174.002 enclosure rules as coops, and refuse and droppings must be removed at least twice each calendar week (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 174, page 13). Commercial pigeon breeding is barred in those districts.

Dogs are counted separately. Section 174.006 bars keeping more than four dogs per dwelling unit in the RE, RS-1, RS-2, RS-3, SRE, RT-10, RM-15, RM-20, RMH, CMU, UMU and PUD districts, counting any dog six months or older; owners above the cap when the rule took effect could apply to the Palm Bay Code Compliance Division for a certificate (Palm Bay LDC Chapter 174, page 6).

The adopted Chapter 174 posted by the City of Palm Bay, dated September 19, 2024, sets the four-hen limit, and the city's Phase 2 Land Development Code update includes a text amendment covering Chapters 173 and 174.

The Palm Bay Growth Management Department says the city adopted its updated Land Development Code in September 2024 and is advancing Phase 2, with Textual Amendment 1 covering Chapters 173 and 174 through workshops and hearings before the Planning and Zoning Board and City Council (City of Palm Bay LDC Phase 2 Updates). Any change to the chicken count would come through that process.

Residents can weigh in before any change. The Phase 2 page invites any member of the public to email comments and questions on the code to landdevelopmentweb@palmbayfl.gov, with a name, telephone number and any code references, and notes that textual amendments require public advertisement and hearings under Florida law (City of Palm Bay LDC Phase 2 Updates).

Enforcement runs through the Palm Bay Code Compliance Division, part of Growth Management. Complaints are filed through the city's iMS online portal, with questions to (321) 952-3430, and the complainant's name and address are required; since Florida Senate Bill 60 took effect on July 1, 2021, local governments may not investigate anonymous code complaints, except where a violation is believed to present an imminent threat to public health and safety or the destruction of habitat or resources (City of Palm Bay Code Compliance). Code cases in Palm Bay are heard by a Special Magistrate on the third Wednesday of each month at 1:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at 120 Malabar Road (City of Palm Bay Code Enforcement Board and Special Magistrate).