Can I keep backyard chickens in Carlisle, Massachusetts?
Yes. Carlisle zoning allows agricultural uses, including poultry, as of right in its residential districts, but you need an annual written permit from the Board of Health to keep any livestock, which includes poultry. Manure piles must be at least 40 feet from the lot line, and roosters can't unreasonably disturb neighbors between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
| Zoning | Agricultural uses permitted as of right in General Residence Districts A and B [1] |
| Poultry counts as livestock | Yes (poultry, fowl, rabbits and other farm animals) [2] |
| Permit | Written Board of Health permit required; expires annually September 1 [3] |
| Manure pile setback | 40 ft from lot line; 100 ft from any offsite dwelling [4] |
| Roosters | May not unreasonably disturb neighbors with noise 9 p.m.-7 a.m. [5] |
| Max number of hens | No limit stated in the documents we reviewed [3] |
| Penalty | $100 per day of violation of the Board of Health regulations [6] |
Zoning
Carlisle's Zoning Bylaw permits agricultural uses as of right in both residential districts (excluding fur farms and piggeries). Only agricultural buildings over 2,000 square feet or 25,000 cubic feet need a 5-acre lot and a 40-foot setback from street and lot lines [1]. Customary agricultural buildings are allowed as accessory structures, so a coop is treated as an ordinary accessory building subject to the normal setbacks.
Board of Health permit
The Board of Health's Keeping of Livestock and Manure Management Regulations (2018) define livestock to include poultry and fowl [2]. No one may keep livestock without a written Board of Health permit, which expires every September 1 and isn't transferable [3]. New applicants file the Board's application form along with a Manure Management Self-Certification Checklist. The regulations don't cap the number of birds.
Manure and coop siting
Manure stockpiles and compost containing manure must be at least 40 feet from the lot line and 100 feet from any offsite dwelling, unless you show the pile is screened, more than 100 feet from abutters' homes and generally downwind [4]. Piles also can't be within 100 feet of a potable well without meeting the regulations' presumptions, and they require extra showings within 100 feet of a wetland. Animals must have clean housing with light, ventilation and water. Violations carry a $100-per-day fine [6].
Roosters
Roosters aren't banned, but the General Bylaws' noise control article bars keeping a rooster whose crowing, plainly audible from nearby homes between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m., unreasonably disturbs others [5]. Police investigate complaints, deliver an Agricultural Commission brochure, and allow three weeks for fixes before issuing fines. Commercial farms meeting the state acreage tests are exempt.
Note on the source
The Board of Health regulation (November 13, 2018) is a scanned PDF; the quoted text comes from OCR and contains character errors (for example "bams" for barns, "September |" for September 1st and 40” for 40 feet). We checked these figures against the scanned page image.
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Next steps
- Get the Keeping of Livestock Permit application from the Board of Health (Town Hall, 66 Westford Street) and submit it with the Manure Management Self-Certification Checklist and fee.
- Plan where manure or compost will go: at least 40 ft from lot lines, 100 ft from neighbors' homes and wells, and away from wetlands.
- Site the coop like any accessory building and check zoning setbacks with the Building Department (978-369-6689).
- Renew the Board of Health permit each year before it expires on September 1.
Common questions
- Can I have backyard chickens in Carlisle, Massachusetts?
- Yes, with a permit. Zoning allows agricultural uses, including poultry, as of right in residential districts, but you need an annual written permit from the Board of Health to keep any livestock.
- Do I need a permit to keep chickens in Carlisle, Massachusetts?
- Yes. Carlisle requires a written Board of Health permit for livestock, which includes poultry, and it expires annually September 1.
- Can I have a rooster in Carlisle, Massachusetts?
- The page does not ban roosters, but they can't unreasonably disturb neighbors with noise between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
- How many hens can I have in Carlisle, Massachusetts?
- The documents we reviewed state no limit on the number of hens. Manure piles must be at least 40 feet from the lot line.
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
- Sec. 3.2.1.7, Zoning Bylaws (May 18, 2026), p. 8
3.2.1.7 Agricultural, horticultural or floricultural uses (but not including a fur farm or piggery) provided that any building hereafter erected for or converted to such purpose shall, if covering more than 2000 square feet or containing more than 25,000 cubic feet, be located on a lot having an area of at least five acres and be placed at least forty feet from all street and lot lines and from all other buildings on the premises.
- Sec. III.B Definitions, Board of Health Keeping of Livestock and Manure Management Regulations (2018), p. 2
Livestock: Livestock includes horses, cattle, sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas, swine, poultry, fowl, rabbits, and other farm animals housed in bams, sheds, or shelters.
- Sec. III.D Requirements, Board of Health Keeping of Livestock and Manure Management Regulations (2018), p. 3
Any such permit shall expire annually on ‘September |" and may be revoked by the Board at any time for cause. The permit fee shall be determined by the Board of Health annually. The permit is not transferable.
- Sec. III.C Manure Management, Board of Health Keeping of Livestock and Manure Management Regulations (2018), p. 2
Managed waste shall not be located closer than 40” to the lot line and 100" from any offsite dwelling because the Board of Health shall presume that those locations have the potential to generate noisome impacts.
- Art. XVI, Sec. 16.3.2 Roosters, General Bylaws (August 26, 2026), p. 65
16.3.2 No person shall own or keep a rooster which, by crowing or by any other noise that is plainly audible from an abutting or nearby residential property between the hours of 9 (nine) P.M. and 7 (seven) A.M., unreasonably disturbs the peace and quiet of any other person.
- Sec. V Penalties, Board of Health Keeping of Livestock and Manure Management Regulations (2018), p. 4
shall be subject to a fine of $100.00 dollars for each day such violation exists.