Can I keep backyard chickens in Bourne, Massachusetts?
Yes. Bourne's Board of Health allows backyard hens if you register them with the Health Department: 4 hens per quarter acre, or no more than 2 on a lot under a quarter acre. Roosters are allowed only on lots of 2 acres or more and only for breeding, and coops must be 100 ft from dwellings and 50 ft from lot lines unless the Board of Health gives written permission.
| Hens allowed | 4 per 1/4 acre; no more than 2 on lots under 1/4 acre [7] |
| Roosters | Not allowed on lots under 2 acres; breeding (sale of chicks) only [6] |
| Coop distance from dwellings | 100 ft (unless the Board of Health gives written permission) [1] |
| Coop distance from lot lines and streets | 50 ft (unless the Board of Health gives written permission) [2] |
| Coop distance from coastal bank / wetland | 25 ft; 100 ft from any drinking well [3] |
| Registration | Register poultry with the Health Department and submit a written manure management plan [4] |
| Free roaming | Not allowed; keep birds in a building, run or enclosure [5] |
| Horses, goats, sheep etc. | Board of Health stable license; 2 animals per lot unless approved after a hearing [9] |
Board of Health rules, not zoning
Bourne regulates poultry through the Board of Health's Poultry Regulation (last amended September 11, 2013). The zoning bylaw has no separate chicken section. "Poultry" covers chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, guinea fowl, pheasants and pigeons.
How many birds
You may keep 4 hens per quarter acre, and no more than 2 hens on a property smaller than a quarter acre [7]. Roosters aren't allowed on any property under 2 acres, and even on larger lots they're allowed only for breeding: if you don't sell chicks for household income, no roosters [6].
Where the coop can go
Coops, hutches and runs must be at least:
- 100 ft from any dwelling used for human habitation, church, public building, park, playground, hospital or nursing home [1]
- 50 ft from adjoining lot lines and street lines [2]
- 25 ft from the top of a coastal bank or the edge of a wetland, and 100 ft from any drinking-water well [3]
The Board of Health can allow shorter distances with written permission. On most small lots these distances are hard to meet, so plan on asking. A variance request goes to the Board in writing for a hearing, and you must notify abutters within 200 ft of the coop by certified mail 10 days before [8].
Coop care and registration
Coops must be durable, rodent-proof, ventilated and dry, and feed must be kept in sealed containers. You need a watertight manure storage facility, and you submit a written manure management plan when you register your poultry with the Health Department [4]. Birds must stay in a building, run or enclosure and can't roam [5].
Other animals
Horses, ponies, cows, mules, donkeys, sheep, llamas, alpacas and goats fall under the Board of Health's Stable Regulations. A stable license and a Board of Health hearing are required, and licenses are limited to 2 animals per lot unless the Board approves more after a public hearing [9].
See how Bourne compares with 8+ other Massachusetts towns on backyard chickens →
Next steps
- Measure your lot to work out your hen limit (2 hens under 1/4 acre; 4 per 1/4 acre) and check whether a coop can be 100 ft from dwellings, 50 ft from lot lines and 25 ft from wetlands.
- Prepare a written manure management plan and register your poultry with the Bourne Health Department.
- If you can't meet the coop distances, submit a written variance request to the Board of Health and notify abutters within 200 ft by certified mail at least 10 days before the hearing.
Common questions
- Can I have chickens in Bourne, Massachusetts?
- Yes. The Board of Health allows backyard hens if you register them with the Health Department and submit a manure management plan: 4 hens per quarter acre, or no more than 2 on a lot under a quarter acre.
- Are roosters allowed in Bourne, MA?
- Only on lots of 2 acres or more, and only for breeding. If you don't sell chicks for household income, roosters aren't allowed regardless of lot size.
- How far does a chicken coop have to be from a house in Bourne, Massachusetts?
- At least 100 ft from any dwelling used for human habitation and 50 ft from lot lines and street lines, plus 25 ft from a coastal bank or wetland and 100 ft from a drinking well, unless the Board of Health gives written permission.
- Can chickens free range in Bourne, Massachusetts?
- No. Poultry must be kept in a building, run or enclosure and can't roam.
Massachusetts state rules on backyard poultry
Massachusetts has no statewide right to keep backyard hens. Whether you can keep chickens, how many, and where the coop goes are set locally, through your town's zoning bylaw and Board of Health regulations.
- Board of Health power: under M.G.L. c. 111, §31, local boards of health may adopt "reasonable health regulations", and many use this power to require a permit to keep poultry. Violations can bring fines of up to $1,000. In towns with an agricultural commission, the board must send that commission any proposed rule affecting the non-commercial keeping of poultry, livestock or bees for a 45-day review.
- Agricultural zoning protection is for farms, not most backyards: c. 40A, §3 stops zoning from banning or requiring a special permit for commercial agriculture. Towns may limit that protection to parcels of 5 acres or more, or 2 acres or more if the land produces at least $1,000 per acre a year in sales. A typical backyard flock doesn't qualify.
- Annual barn inspections: your town's animal inspector, working under the state Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), does annual barn inspections and a census of livestock and poultry. Backyard flock owners may be contacted.
- Nuisance rules still apply: a board of health may also regulate or prohibit an activity that causes a nuisance or offensive odors (c. 111, §143).
What the bylaw says
- BOH Poultry Regulation §1(A) Location, Board of Health Poultry Regulation (amended September 11, 2013), p. 1
A) Coops, hutches or other buildings and poultry runs used to house or confine poultry shall be located not less than 100 feet from any dwelling used for human habitation, any church, public building, park, playground, hospital, nursing home, or rest home except upon written permission of the Board of Health.
- BOH Poultry Regulation §1(B) Location, Board of Health Poultry Regulation (amended September 11, 2013), p. 1
B) Coops, hutches or other buildings and poultry runs used to house or confine poultry shall be located not less than 50 feet from adjoining property lot lines or the lot lines of any street, court or passageway except upon written permission of the Board of Health.
- BOH Poultry Regulation §1(C) Location, Board of Health Poultry Regulation (amended September 11, 2013), p. 1
C) Coops, hutches or other buildings and poultry runs used to house or confine poultry shall be located not less than 25 feet from top of the defined coastal bank or edge of wetlands, either fresh water or salt water; and not less than 100 feet from any private/public drinking well except upon written permission of the Board of Health.
- BOH Poultry Regulation §7 Manure Storage, Board of Health Poultry Regulation (amended September 11, 2013), p. 2
A written manure management plan shall be submitted to Health Department upon registering of Poultry.
- BOH Poultry Regulation §8 Restriction to Premises, Board of Health Poultry Regulation (amended September 11, 2013), p. 2
All poultry shall be kept in an approved building, run or enclosure of adequate size. Poultry shall not be permitted to roam unrestrained outside the building, run or enclosure.
- BOH Poultry Regulation §9(A)-(B) Roosters, Board of Health Poultry Regulation (amended September 11, 2013), p. 2
A) No Rooster shall be permitted on a property less than 2 acres, and B) Roosters are for breeding only. If there is no sale of chicks (infant chickens) for house hold income, Roosters will not be permitted, regardless of lot size, and
- BOH Poultry Regulation §9(C) Hens, Board of Health Poultry Regulation (amended September 11, 2013), p. 2
C) Properties are permitted for 4 hens per ¼ acre, no more than 2 hens for property less than ¼ acre.
- BOH Poultry Regulation §10(B) Variance Procedures, Board of Health Poultry Regulation (amended September 11, 2013), p. 3
B) For a variance to be considered, abutters within a 200 foot radius of coop and run must be notified by Certified Mail, Return Receipt requested, 10 days prior to the variance hearing.
- BOH Stable Regulations - Horses and Ponies, Board of Health Stable Regulations - Horses and Ponies (also cows, mules, donkeys, sheep, llamas, alpacas, goats) (amended February 22, 2012), p. 1
Licenses will be limited to 2 horses (ponies, etc.) per lot, unless written approval is obtained from the Bourne Board of Health after a public hearing with notice to all direct abutters.