Can I keep backyard chickens in Canton, Massachusetts?
Yes, with a Board of Health permit. Your first permit is issued only after a Board of Health hearing, and you must notify your abutters by certified mail at least 7 days beforehand. The permit costs $25, lasts up to two years, and manure must be stored at least 50 feet from property lines.
| Permit required | Yes, Board of Health permit for any animal other than cats, dogs and fish [1] |
| First permit | Issued only after a Board of Health hearing [1] |
| Abutter notice | Certified mail at least 7 days before the hearing [4] |
| Manure storage setback | At least 50 ft from any property line [3] |
| Fee | $25 per permit [5] |
| Permit term | Up to 2 years; expires Dec 31 of each even-numbered year [6] |
| Max hens / roosters | No limit or rooster ban in the regulation [2] |
| Fines | $25 / $50 / $100; each day a separate violation [7] |
Board of Health permit
Canton regulates backyard chickens through the Board of Health's Regulation for the Keeping of Animals, not through zoning. The posted regulation has no adoption date (the town's file dates from 2009), so confirm the current version with the Board of Health. No animal other than domesticated cats, dogs and fish may be kept in town without a Board of Health permit. The first permit is issued only after a Board hearing [1]. The Board's FAQ confirms that chickens, ducks, goats, horses and other animals are allowed with a permit [8].
What the application needs
Your application must describe the animals (breed, species, sex, breeding status and number) [2]. It also needs:
- a waste storage and disposal plan that prevents odors, flies and vermin
- a feeding, caging, fencing and shelter plan with the area per animal
- a plot plan showing distances to abutting property and buildings
Manure and animal waste must be stored at least 50 feet from any property line [3]. You must prove that all abutters got written notice by certified mail at least seven days before the hearing [4]. You also agree to a yearly inspection by the Animal Inspector and to required vaccinations.
Fees and renewal
Each permit costs $25 [5]. Permits run for up to two years and expire December 31 of each even-numbered year [6]. Apply for an "Animal Keeping License" through Canton Online Permitting and mail a check to the Board of Health [9]. The Board can suspend or revoke a permit for cause. Fines are $25, $50 and $100, and each day counts as a separate violation [7].
Flock size, roosters and zoning
The regulation sets no maximum number of hens and doesn't ban roosters. The application asks how many animals you plan to keep [2], so our reading is that the Board weighs flock size at the hearing. Zoning has no backyard-poultry rule. The use table does require a Board of Appeals special permit (BA) in the SR district for a building used in connection with agricultural use, "such as a greenhouse or poultry battery" [10]. A normal backyard coop is more likely treated as an accessory structure, but ask the Building Department.
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Next steps
- Call the Board of Health (781-821-5021, 79 Pleasant Street) to get on a hearing agenda.
- Prepare a plot plan showing the coop, run and manure storage (at least 50 ft from all property lines), plus your waste, feeding and shelter plans.
- Apply for an Animal Keeping License through Canton Online Permitting and mail the $25 check to the Board of Health.
- Send written notice to all abutters by certified mail at least 7 days before the hearing and bring the return receipts.
- Check the coop's location against the accessory-structure setbacks with the Building Department.
Common questions
- Can I have chickens in Canton, Massachusetts?
- Yes, with a Board of Health permit. Your first permit is issued only after a Board of Health hearing, and you must notify abutters by certified mail at least 7 days beforehand. The posted regulation is undated, so confirm the current version with the Board of Health.
- How much is a chicken permit in Canton, MA?
- The permit costs $25 and lasts up to two years, expiring December 31 of each even-numbered year. Apply for an Animal Keeping License through Canton Online Permitting and mail a check to the Board of Health.
- How many chickens can I have in Canton, Massachusetts, and are roosters allowed?
- The regulation sets no maximum number of hens and doesn't ban roosters. The application asks how many animals you plan to keep, so our reading is that the Board weighs flock size at the hearing.
- Where can I put a chicken coop in Canton, MA?
- Manure and animal waste must be stored at least 50 feet from any property line, and your application needs a plot plan showing distances to abutting property and buildings. Zoning has no backyard-poultry rule; check the coop's location against the accessory-structure setbacks with the Building Department.
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
- Regulation for the Keeping of Animals, Regulation, Board of Health - Regulation for the Keeping of Animals (with application), p. 1
No animal, other than domesticated cats, dogs and fish, may be kept within the boundaries of the Town of Canton without the owner first obtaining a permit from the Canton Board of Health (Board). The initial permit shall only be issued after a hearing has been conducted by the Board of Health to consider all factors in issuing such a permit.
- Permit Application, item 1, Board of Health - Regulation for the Keeping of Animals (with application), p. 2
A complete description (breed, species, sex, and breeding status) of the animals intended to be kept, including the numbers thereof.
- Permit Application, item 4, Board of Health - Regulation for the Keeping of Animals (with application), p. 2
Manure and animal waste shall be stored a minimum of fifty (50) feet from any property lines.
- Permit Application, item 7, Board of Health - Regulation for the Keeping of Animals (with application), p. 2
Proof (return receipt) that all abutting neighbors have received written notice by certified mail at least seven (7) days prior to the hearing before the Board of Health for which said hearing is to be conducted to consider a permit to keep animals.
- Fee, Board of Health - Regulation for the Keeping of Animals (with application), p. 3
A fee of twenty-five dollars ($25) shall be charged for each permit issued under this Regulation.
- Board of Health Permits & Licenses, Animal Keeping License, Board of Health - Permits & Licenses (Apply Here), p. 1
Permits will be issued for up to two (2) years under this Regulation and shall expire on December 31st of each evenly numbered year.
- Failure to Comply with an Order, Board of Health - Regulation for the Keeping of Animals (with application), p. 3
Any person who fails to comply with any part of this Regulation shall be fined twenty- five dollars ($25) for the first violation, fifty dollars ($50) for the second violation and one hundred dollars ($100) for a third violation.
- Board of Health FAQs, Board of Health FAQs, p. 1
Yes, there is an Animal Regulation in Canton. Chickens, ducks, goats, horses, etc. are allowed with a permit and the fee is $25
- Board of Health Permits & Licenses, Board of Health - Permits & Licenses (Apply Here), p. 1
Once applications have been submitted and reviewed checks should be mailed to the Board of Health at 79 Pleasant St. Canton 02021.
- Attachment A, Table of Use Regulations, C. Agricultural and Related Uses, Zoning By-Laws 2026 (amended through STM 2025), p. 15
Building or structure used or BA N N N N N N N N maintained in connection with a permitted agricultural use of the land, or used for any other purpose of agricultural production (such as a greenhouse or poultry battery)