Can You Legally Raise Chickens Inside El Paso City Limits?

Because of shortages and rising prices eggs are a hot commodity these days.

I saw on the news that the cost of a carton of oval protein goodness has led to some El Pasoans turning to the thug life and smuggling eggs in from Juarez where a dozen costs half as much as they do here.

But, maybe instead of paying more at the grocery store or leading a life of crime you’ve entertained the thought of raising your own chickens.

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Can you legally keep egg-laying chickens in a residential area inside El Paso city limits?

State Law

Per the Texas State Law Library, there is no state law regulating backyard chickens. Your city ordinances determine whether or not you can have them on your property.

And in El Paso, the short answer is yes you can have chickens inside city limits. But there are a few caveats.

City Ordinance on Fowl

First, according to the City of El Paso Code of Ordinances, you’ll need a permit that you renew annually. Then there are coop restrictions:

“[Chickens must] be kept in a secure pen or enclosure that is at least thirty feet from any private residence…hotel, apartment house, tenement house, hospital, church or school; provided, the pen or enclosure may be within twenty feet of such buildings if separated there from by a public alley and by a solid fence or wall at least six feet high between the pen or enclosure and the alley.”

Sanitation requirements:

Manure shall be removed from…yards, cages and other enclosures at least twice weekly and handled or disposed of in such a manner as to keep the premises free of any nuisance.

And finally, “additional permit requirements” that are too numerous to include but can be found HERE.

Also, consider these fun facts shared by NMSU Doña Ana Cooperative Extension Service.