Can I keep backyard chickens in Winchester, Massachusetts?
Yes, hens are allowed with a Board of Health permit. You need at least 6,500 sq ft of lot for 3 hens (up to 6 on larger lots in most residential zones); roosters are banned, and the coop must be in the backyard at least 10 ft from lot lines and 20 ft from any home.
| Permit | Written Board of Health permit, renewed annually (expires May 31) [1] |
| Max hens (RG zone, 6,500 sq ft lot) | 3 [2] |
| Max hens (other residential zones, over 6,500 sq ft) | 6 [2] |
| Roosters | Prohibited (also pigeons, swine, wild animals) [3] |
| Coop setback from lot line | 10 ft [4] |
| Coop setback from dwellings | 20 ft from all residential dwellings, including yours [4] |
| Location | Not in the front yard; coop in the backyard [5] |
| Coop and run size | 2 sq ft per bird (coop), 5 sq ft per bird (run) [6] |
| Commercial/mixed-use zones | Keeping animals prohibited [5] |
| Horses, cattle, sheep, goats | At least 1 acre for the first animal [8] |
Permit
Winchester's Board of Health Regulation for the Keeping of Animals (effective January 1, 2014) requires a written permit before anyone keeps fowl, horses, cows, goats or sheep [1]. The application needs a plan of your property with the coop, fencing and setbacks, the signatures of all direct abutters, and a maintenance and pest-control plan. A permit is issued only after a fee and a successful inspection by the Animal Control Officer or health staff, and it expires May 31 each year [1].
How many hens
In the General Residence (RG) zone with a 6,500 sq ft lot minimum, the limit is 3 fowl; in other residential zones on lots over 6,500 sq ft, the limit is 6 [2]. The Board's 2016 homeowner guide puts it simply: 6,500 sq ft for 3 hens, up to 6 on larger lots [7]. Roosters, pigeons, swine and wild animals are prohibited [3], and animals can't be kept in commercial or mixed-use zones [5].
Coop and run
A coop with at least 2 sq ft of floor per bird and a pen with at least 5 sq ft per bird are required [6]. The facility must be at least 10 ft from the lot line and 20 ft from all residential dwellings [4], and no part of it may be in the front yard [5]. Free-ranging is allowed only in a fully fenced yard, with supervision, and if your permit allows it. Feed must be kept in watertight, vermin-proof containers, waste stored in sealed containers, and coops disinfected at least twice a year.
Other animals
Horses, cattle, sheep and goats need at least one acre for the first animal [8], with stables set back 50 ft from property lines and dwellings.
These rules come from the Board of Health regulation effective January 1, 2014 (a scanned copy) and may have changed since; check the current wording and permit fee with the Board of Health.
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Next steps
- Confirm your zoning district and lot size (RG lots: 3 hens; other residential lots over 6,500 sq ft: up to 6).
- Draw a plot plan showing the coop and run in the backyard at least 10 ft from lot lines and 20 ft from any house, plus abutters' names and addresses.
- Collect signatures from all direct abutters and submit the Keeping of Animals application and fee to the Board of Health (71 Mt. Vernon St., 781-721-7121).
- Schedule the coop inspection with the Animal Control Officer/Board of Health, and renew the permit by May 1 each year.
Common questions
- Can I keep chickens in Winchester, Massachusetts?
- Yes, with a written Board of Health permit, renewed annually and expiring May 31. Keeping animals is prohibited in commercial and mixed-use zones.
- How many chickens can I have in Winchester, Massachusetts?
- In the RG zone with a 6,500 sq ft lot, 3 hens. In other residential zones on lots over 6,500 sq ft, up to 6.
- Can I have a rooster in Winchester, Massachusetts?
- No. Roosters are prohibited.
- Where can a chicken coop go in Winchester, Massachusetts?
- In the backyard, not the front yard, at least 10 ft from lot lines and 20 ft from all residential dwellings, including yours. Coops need 2 sq ft per bird and runs 5 sq ft per bird.
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. 4.1, Application, Permit and Fees, Board of Health Keeping of Animals Regulation (2014), p. 2
No person shall keep or allow to be kept within the limits of the towh of Winchester, in any building, or any lot on which he may be the owner, lessee, tenant, or occupant, any fowl, horses, cows, goats, or sheep without first obtaining a written permit from the Board of Health.
- Sec. 8.1, Keeping of Fowl - Land and fowl requirements, Board of Health Keeping of Animals Regulation (2014), p. 4
A. Residential General (RG) Zone with 6500 square feet lot minimum: 1. 3 fowl maximum B. All other residential zones >6500 square feet lot minimum: 1. 6 fowl maximum
- Sec. 6.1, General Requirements, Board of Health Keeping of Animals Regulation (2014), p. 3
6.1: The following animals are prohibited: roosters, pigeons, swine and wild animals.
- Sec. 8.2(C)-(D), Facility Requirements, Board of Health Keeping of Animals Regulation (2014), p. 5
C. Facility must be 10 feet from property/lot line D. Facility must be 20 feet from all residential dwellings.
- Sec. 6.2-6.3, General Requirements, Board of Health Keeping of Animals Regulation (2014), p. 3
6.2: Front yard use for any part of the facility is prohibited. . 6.3: Commercial and mixed use zones as defined by the Winchester Zoning Bylaw are prohibited from keeping animals.
- Sec. 8.2(A)-(B), Facility Requirements, Board of Health Keeping of Animals Regulation (2014), p. 5
1. Coop must have a minimum interior floor surface of at least 2 square feet per bird. B. A Pen/Run is required: 1, Pen must have a minimum ground surface of at least 5 square feet per bird.
- Backyard Chickens in Winchester (BOH guide), Backyard Chickens in Winchester (Board of Health guide, 2017), p. 1
DO I HAVE Minimum lot size: 6500 Square Feet for 3 hens ENOUGH SPACE? Lot size more than 6500 Square Feet: can have up to 6 hens
- Sec. 9.1(A), Keeping of Horses, Cattle, Sheep and Goats, Board of Health Keeping of Animals Regulation (2014), p. 5
A. One (1) acre is required for one horse, cattle, sheep or goat. No permit shall be issued to keep an animal on any lot of land containing less than one (1) acre.