Can you keep chickens in Township of Berkeley, NJ?
Yes. Berkeley allows up to nine hens on a single-family residential lot under one acre, bans roosters on lots under one acre, and sets detailed coop and run standards.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Yes, with conditions |
| Hens | Up to 9 hens |
| Roosters | Prohibited on any property under one acre |
| Permit | Not specified |
| Coop setback | Coop and run in the rear or side yard, meeting the setbacks for the zone |
| Lot size | No minimum stated |
| Ducks | Not addressed in the code |
Good to know
- Chickens may not be kept in adult communities or on lagoon properties.
- The coop needs 4 square feet of floor space per bird, a nest box for every three hens and 12 inches of roost space per hen.
- A run or exercise yard is required, at 10 or 16 square feet per bird depending on yard access.
- Chickens may not be housed in a house or garage except for brooding.
What about ducks?
Unclear, and likely a problem. Berkeley's backyard rule covers hens only, and a separate section bans feeding ducks on public or private land, which on its face would make keeping ducks hard. Ask the township first.
§ 9-16.3; § 9-10.1: "No person or persons shall feed, cause to be fed or provide food for geese, ducks or other waterfowl on publicly or privately owned lands within the Township of Berkeley." Duck coops we build.
Building a coop in Township of Berkeley?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across Ocean County and all of New Jersey, sized to your flock and built to your town's rules.
In an HOA? The town allowing hens is not the same as your association allowing them. What an HOA can and cannot stop.
New to this? Start with how to raise chickens in NJ, or what a coop costs.
Chicken rules in nearby Ocean County towns
Compare them side by side in the Ocean County table.
Ready to keep your flock safe?
Tell us about your animals and your land. We'll design a coop built to last, on-site, just for you.