Hatching a plan to save money? What to know about owning chickens, livestock in Lubbock

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27-02-2025

As egg prices rise due to the ongoing avian flu outbreak in the United States, some might be looking for ways to save money, including renting or buying chickens.
Director Steven Greene of Lubbock Animal Services said that within the past few months, there has been an uptick in inquiries from citizens interested in keeping chickens on their properties in the city limits.
Others are reading: Are eggs too expensive? Try renting a chicken instead if you live in Texas. Here's how
there are some stipulations Lubbock City Ordinances have put in place
"Just do it correctly," Greene said. "So you're not in violation, and we don't have to do any enforcement on you."
Here's what you need to know about owning chickens and other livestock in Lubbock.
According to Lubbock ordinances, those zoned in residential R-1, R-1A, or R-2 can own chickens. However, the number is capped at six female chickens or hens, and roosters are not permitted.
It's worth noting that the Unified Development Code renames R-1 and R-1A as Semi-Urban Residential (SU) districts and R-2 as Semi-Urban Residential Attached (SU-A) districts.
But living in those specified zoning districts isn't the only rule. Greene said citizens must also do the following in order to be in compliance:
Chickens remained confined in an enclosure to prevent them from running around and be kept in the backyard.
Coops under 200 square feet must be setback by five feet from a side or rear property line.
Coops must be large enough to be clean and provide adequate drainage.
Chicken droppings must be collected daily and disposed of in a rat-proof, fly-tight container.
Chicken feed must also be kept in a rat-proof, fly-tight container.
If individuals want to keep more than six chickens on their property, they must request a multi-pet permit from Greene's office at Lubbock Animal Services, 3323 SE Loop 289.
"What they do is they come in and pay the application fee, and that's going to be $25 and it's non refundable," Greene said. "Once they pay that application fee, then (animal services) would go out and investigate their property to make sure that they're fitting all the requirements."
LAS would also look into the owner's complaints or violations with animal services over the last 24 months.
If everything is above board, Greene said, they will issue the permit for the specific amount of chickens the owner wants, and it has to be renewed every two years.
"I can guarantee we have zero multi-chicken permits currently," Greene said.
If someone is found to have more than six chickens without a permit, LAS gives the individual 48 hours to dispose of the excess.
Greene said failure to comply with city ordinances or causing nuisance or noise complaints could lead to someone receiving a citation.
However, before someone goes out to buy or rent a chicken to produce eggs, Greene said they need to be aware of the health and pest concerns that chickens tend to attract.
"If you don't keep your feed covered, if you don't keep your feces picked up, you're going to attract a lot of flies in the summer," Greene said. "Lately, you have bird flu going around, and so that can also possibly be an issue if you had a chicken that got infected with bird flu, and then, you know, it can be transmissible to humans."
For context, Lubbock Public Health did detect one case of bird flu in Lubbock in early February but has not reported any more cases since.
The same Lubbock ordinances
The city prohibits people other than veterinarians from keeping a live hog within the city limits. The only entities and locations given exception are:
Texas Tech University.
Lubbock Christian University.
Monterey High School Ag Farm.
The Panhandle South Plains Fair Grounds (for exhibition purposes only).
But the city does allow citizens to keep honeybees within the city with the following rules in place:
Maximum of four hives per city lot with written permission from adjacent property owners.
Hives must be at least 30 feet from property lines and enclosed areas.
A water source must be within 20 feet of hives.
Hives must be re-queened every six months.
Owners must notify the city when the number of hives changes, the locations of hives and when a hive has been re-queened.
The final stipulation for owning honeybees is that the owner must make the hives available for inspection to ensure compliance.
The City of Lubbock provides citizens with several ways of submitting reports and complaints to LAS.
Individuals can call LAS's at 806-775-3357 for emergencies or email [e-mail] for non-emergencies.
Citizens can also make a report through the MYLBK app or use the online citizen portal at seeclickfix.com/oauth/login.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Lubbock ordinances limit chicken, swine and bees within city limits