Backyard chickens — Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian residents may keep no more than two chickens or other fowl per lot, in a clean coop, but horses, goats, hogs, cattle and other livestock are banned within city limits.

The limit is set by Section 18-29 of the Sebastian Code of Ordinances: any person keeping fowl shall keep them in a pen, coop or enclosure, and no more than two such fowl may be kept on any single lot. The two bird cap applies to every lot in Sebastian regardless of its size or zoning, and the Code does not distinguish hens from roosters, so a pair of laying hens uses the entire allowance. The article dates from Ordinance O-93-14, adopted January 26, 1994, and the Municode edition current in October 2026 shows it unchanged.

In the Sebastian Code, fowl means chickens, ducks, turkeys or similar birds, and livestock means horses, cattle, hogs, goats, sheep, mules and other grazing animals.

Section 18-26 of the Sebastian Code supplies the definitions. Fowl means all types of chickens, ducks, turkeys or similar birds. Livestock means all animals of the equine, bovine or swine class, including goats, sheep, mules, horses, hogs, cattle and other grazing animals. A nondomesticated animal is any animal other than livestock, fowl, or a dog, cat, bird or similar pet, and a dangerous animal or reptile is a wild or feral mammal or reptile capable of inflicting serious bodily injury.

Those definitions decide which rule applies in Sebastian. A backyard duck is fowl and counts toward the two bird cap. A goat or a miniature horse is livestock, and Section 18-31(a) states that it shall be unlawful for any person to keep, maintain, pen or feed livestock or nondomesticated animals within the city. Section 18-32 separately bans dangerous animals and the birds known as ratites, naming the ostrich, rhea, emu and cassowary.

A Sebastian coop must be securely built, large enough for its birds, kept sanitary and not offensive to neighbors, and conditions that breed flies are banned outright.

Section 18-27 covers every pen, cage, coop, loft or enclosure in the City of Sebastian. Each must be securely built and maintained, adequate in size for the kind and number of animals or fowl, maintained in a sanitary condition, and cleaned so as not to become offensive to residents or businesses adjacent to it. The Code adds that keeping enclosures under conditions allowing the breeding of flies is specifically prohibited.

Noise and waste rules reach backyard birds too. Chapter 67 of the Sebastian Code lists among its violations the keeping of any dog, animal or bird which causes frequent, habitual or continued noise and which disturbs the peace, quiet and comfort of neighboring residents; after a warning, Sebastian noise citations run $50, $250 and then $500. The city's nuisance chapter names the carcasses of animals or fowl not disposed of within a reasonable time after death as a public nuisance that an enforcement official can order removed.

Sebastian's Land Development Code requires a building permit for any accessory structure and keeps detached rear-yard structures at least ten feet from the rear property line and no taller than 12 feet.

Chapter 18 sets the animal limits but says nothing about construction, so a substantial coop or animal shed built in Sebastian runs into the city's general rules for accessory structures in Section 54-2-7.5 of the Land Development Code. Those rules state that no accessory structure shall be constructed or maintained without a building permit issued by the city's building official naming the type of structure, and that no detached accessory structure may sit in front of the front building line of the house. Detached structures such as utility sheds may encroach into a required rear yard if they keep a minimum distance of ten feet from the rear property line, stay out of dedicated easements, cover no more than 400 square feet and do not exceed 12 feet in height.

Whether a small portable coop counts as an accessory structure is not addressed in Chapter 18 or Section 54-2-7.5, so the Sebastian building department at City Hall, 1225 Main Street, is the office that decides permit questions for a given design. The same Land Development Code section bars truck trailers, travel trailers and motor vehicles from being used as accessory structures, and caps total accessory building area on a residential lot at five square feet per 100 square feet of lot area, up to 1,000 square feet.

The city's wildlife stance sits alongside these rules. The City of Sebastian describes itself on its official website as the Home of Pelican Island, and Section 18-1 of the Code declares all land within city limits a sanctuary and a reserve for all birds and fur-bearing animals, so wild birds and fur-bearing animals drawn to a backyard flock may not be trapped or killed without a city manager permit.

Sebastian allows one pot-bellied pig as a household pet and up to ten small animals such as rabbits, but bans pigeons entirely.

The pig exception in Section 18-31(b) is detailed. One pure-bred pot-bellied pig may be kept at a Sebastian residence used primarily as a home if, at all times, the pig is kept inside the house for at least ten hours each calendar day, its outdoor area is enclosed by a fence at least four feet high, it is vaccinated for pseudorabies and tested by a licensed veterinarian for brucellosis and pseudorabies at least annually, and it is never used in a commercial venture. The pig shall not be used in any commercial venture, the Code states; it is kept solely as a pet.

Small animals have a count rule. Section 18-28 requires rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mice, gerbils and similar animals to be kept in a pen meeting the sanitary standard. When more than two but fewer than ten are kept, the pen must be at least 20 feet from any adjacent property line, and no Sebastian residence may keep more than ten in total. Pigeons get no allowance: Section 18-30 makes it unlawful for any person to keep or harbor pigeons within the city. Licensed shelters, veterinary clinics, pet stores, zoos and educational or research facilities are exempt from the fowl, small animal and livestock limits.

The exemption list explains why animals beyond the household limits can still be found legally in Sebastian. A licensed veterinary clinic or pet store in the city may hold more than two birds, small animals in quantity or animals that would otherwise count as livestock, because Sections 18-28, 18-29 and 18-31 each carve out duly licensed or established shelters, clinics, pet stores, zoos and educational or institutional research facilities. A household does not qualify for those exemptions by keeping animals as a hobby, and no Sebastian permit is listed in Chapter 18 that raises the two fowl limit for a residence.

City livestock and fowl limits are enforced by the Sebastian Police Department's Code Enforcement Unit, while Indian River County Animal Control handles domestic animal complaints, licensing and strays in Sebastian.

Code complaints about too many birds, a dirty coop or a backyard goat go to the Code Enforcement Unit at the Sebastian Police Department, 1201 Main Street, through its hotline at 772-388-4436 option 1 or its online complaint form. Florida law prohibits anonymous complaints, so the city requires the complainant's name and address before it investigates.

The county covers the rest. Indian River County Animal Control takes complaints for locations within Indian River County, including Sebastian and Fellsmere, excluding Vero Beach, and its duties include impounding domestic animals running at large and licensing dogs and cats; a one year license for a sterile pet is $10, and the office number is 772-226-4799. The Sebastian Code notes that the county's Animal Control Ordinance applies throughout Indian River County except where a city ordinance is inconsistent, which is why the city's stricter two bird and no livestock rules control inside Sebastian. Section 18-1 also makes the entire city a sanctuary for birds and fur-bearing animals, where hunting or trapping them is unlawful without a written permit from the city manager.

Last verified: October 10, 2026, on the City of Sebastian website.