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Fun Egg Fact: Michigan is the nation’s 7th top egg producer, and yielded over 5 billion eggs in 2024. (Source: MAPI)
Whether or not you can raise chickens in Michigan depends on the property where chickens will be raised.
Home-owning Michigander families think of raising chickens to enjoy extra healthy eggs or go so far to sell cartons of fresh-stradomous eggs at the Michigan farmers markets.
The issue of keeping a few backyard chickens in Michigan has been flipped over-easy. Decisions with chickens in Michigan cities makes news with policy changes year after year — in 2019 and 2022 and 2025 over time.
Permission to raise chicken goes city by city, township by township, zone by zone in Michigan. You need to build and maintain your chicken farm up to code, and you might need to obtain a permit — depending on the property and its circumstances.
Before raising chickens in Michigan, you’d better check up on local ordinances and follow the chicken rules in your jurisdiction.
Ask your city about chicken raising local ordinances for your property, since you plan to raise some chickens on your property. To research online before calling in, try the Municode and search “chicken” for your city.
In some communities, you must first file an application for a permit and pay a fee. There may be a prohibition on having roosters or a limit on the number of birds you are allowed to have. There may also be rules regarding the type and location of shelter that must be provided. You may be required to get written permission from your neighbors.
Michigan’s Generally Accepted Agricultural and Management Practices (GAAMPs) are pretty lenient for raising chickens.
Really it’s the city and its local zoning law enforcement that calls the shots when it comes to you raising chickens on your property.
Hens vs Roasters: Compared to roasters, hens lay eggs and stay quiet. Neighbors across Michigan think hens with their quiet clucks are more welcome than roasters with their routine morning crow.
Chicken raising rules change place to place, property to property. The most comprehensive list of Michigan chicken raising laws by locality can be searched and filtered on the Michigan Municode. First, click into your city, then search the word “chicken” or “fowl” to find your newest chicken raising municipality norms.
For example in the St. Louis, MI Municode CHAPTER 10, ARTICLE I, Sec. 10-1. (a) — it states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to keep any horses, cattle, swine, sheep, ponies, goats, rabbits, poultry, or other animals and fowl within the city.” St. Louis, MI only lets you raise chickens out in the country.
Back in 2016, our friends in Ferndale, MI checked cities across the state to learn whether or not chickens were allowed there.
Back in 2016, chickens were ALLOWED in these cities: Ada Township, Addison Township, Auburn Hills, Berkley, Canton Charter Township, Centerline, Charlotte, Chelsea, Clawson, Dearborn, East Lansing, Eastpointe, Farmington Hills, Ferndale, Georgetown Township, Grand Rapids, Harrison Township, Hazel Park, Holland, Holly, Lansing, Lathrup Village, Livonia, Madison Heights, Mundy Charter Township, Muskegon Charter Township, Northville, Norton Shores, Novi, Pontiac , Rochester Hills, Roseville, Royal Oak, Southfield, Troy, Warren, West Bloomfield, Westland, Ypsilanti.
Back in 2016, chickens were BANNED in these cities: Ada Township, Allen Park, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bronson, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, Farmington, Flint, Fraser, Garden City, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Harper Woods, Huntington Woods, Mount Clemens, New Baltimore, North Branch, Oak Park, Plymouth, Rochester, Romeo, Shelby Township, St. Clair Shores, St. Louis, Sterling Heights, Taylor, Utica.
It changes over time! Check Municode, and request up-to-date info from your city representatives.
For example according to the Ingham County Chicken Ordinance, hen enclosures should keep chickens confined to the owner’s property, at least 10 feet from any adjacent property line, and not closer than 40 feet from any adjacent residential structure.
As of the 2009 Chicken Ordinance, Ingham County allows people to keep up to five hens at one or two-family homes in areas not zoned for agriculture. The Ingham County 4H MSU Extension published a PDF for beginner hen farmers.
Exact requirements for chicken-related animals, structures, materials, and operations vary place-to-place. Check Municode, and request info from your city on chicken ordinances.
A healthy, happy hen can lay 300 to 600 eggs in their lifetime.
The general egg-laying hen lives around 8 to 10 years long, and lays eggs from the age of 18 months onto the age of 6 to 7 years old. Hens lay the most eggs between the ages of 2 to 3 years old.
You take on money cost and labor cost when raising chickens in your backyard.
Running a high quality backyard chicken coop with capacity for five chickens costs between $600 and $1,800 to startup, and costs between $30 and $90 to maintain month after month ongoing.
Chickens are the easiest and least expensive way to start raising livestock. Chickens’ minimum startup cost of $600 is less than the startup cost to raise other livestock — for example — raising ducks costs at least $800 to start, rabbits $1,000, and goats $1,600.
Raising five chickens in your backyard takes about 160 hours per year, the equivalent of four full-time work weeks.
Taking care of five chickens takes 10-15 minutes for daily chores, 30-60 minutes for weekly chores, 60-120 minutes for monthly chores. One year raising five happy chickens in your backyard requires time and effort all year.
Neighbors of chicken farmers might complain about the chicken farmer’s activities so close to their property. That’s especially true in residential areas.
They might be worried about chicken-related foodborne illness from germs, or even more frightening, the risk of another bird flue outbreak — all starting from one dirty little backyard chicken coop.
Neighbors of chicken farmers less worried about illness commonly complain about bad smells wafting over. They don’t like chickens pooping and moulting near their property. Chickens eat bugs and pests (good), but they also attract bugs and pests (bad).
When a neighbor detects a “foul odor” while trying to enjoy a glass of sweet tea on the porch, it’s chicken particles in the air. “God forbid such microscopic chicken scratch gets into my water,” a reasonable neighbor sips sweet tea, “Should I bring it up with my neighbor…? Or take this case straight to the city authorities…” A neighbor sips and reckons what to do about the chicken farming operation negatively affecting their quality of life due to verified smells and unverified fears.
Prevent Bird-Born Illness: Commercial poultry operations would do mitten society a favor by complying with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and MDARD to prevent HPAI outbreaks from Michigan poultry.
