Robert Nislick
All has been quiet for years in your suburban neighborhood. Early one morning, you are awoken by the sound of crowing. Your neighbor has decided to keep a rooster. You soon learn that roosters crow all day, not just at dawn. The constant noise makes working from home impossible and it is impacting your ability to sleep. You decide to investigate whether anything can be done to require the neighbor to remove the rooster.
Alternatively, you may desire to keep chickens in your backyard. The New York Times reports that a spike in egg prices in 2023 is driving consumer demand for chicks that will grow into egg-laying chickens. How can you foster a wholesome desire to grow your own food and care for animals without running afoul of the law?
The Board of Health in your town may regulate your ability to keep live fowl. “Boards of health may make reasonable health regulations.” G. L. c. 111, § 31. The “board of health of . . . a city or town may make such regulations or orders as, in its judgment, the public health requires relative to . . . number of animals . . . in its city or town.” G. L. c. 111, § 155. “A city or town may make additional ordinances or by-laws relative to the licensing and control of animals . . . .” G. L. c. 140, § 173.
If you are a homeowner who desires to keep chickens or roosters, you may want to review your town’s regulations for keeping animals. Each town is likely to have its own set of rules, by-laws, or ordinances which govern items such as the permitting process, the maximum number of chickens one can have, whether any roosters may be kept, the minimum distance that the animals must be kept from abutting properties, provisions for annual inspections, fees, as well as enforcement mechanisms.
By contrast, you may be a homeowner who is aggrieved by a neighbor’s keeping of animals. If you believe that a neighbor’s keeping of animals is a nuisance, it may be helpful to inquire with your local health department to see if your neighbor has obtained the proper permits. The health agent in the town can work with the animal control officer, the board of health, and possibly even the police department, to investigate and take action against someone who is failing to comply with the rules.
It may also be helpful to retain legal counsel to help you with the permitting process or the enforcement process.
As you can see from the links below, each town may have very different requirements for the permitting and keeping of chickens and roosters. For example, here are the regulations for several towns in MetroWest.
Ashland – Rules and Regulations Relative to the Exhibition, Housing, Maintaining and Keeping of Animals
Framingham – Regulation of the Framingham Board of Health Minimum Standards for the Keeping of Animals.
Natick – Board of Health Regulations, Chapter 6 – Horses, Cows, Goats, Swine and Poultry
Sudbury – Rules & Regulations for Stables and Keeping of Animals in the Town of Sudbury
Wayland – Animal Regulations
Wellesley – Board of Health Regulations, Chapter XVI – Animals – Livestock and Feral or Wild
Westborough – Westborough Animal Control Bylaws
About the author: Robert Nislick is a Massachusetts real estate lawyer and former law clerk of the Land Court. For more information, contact him at (508) 405-1238, or by e-mail.