Can you keep chickens in Borough of Butler, NJ?
Butler permits poultry only as an accessory use on a lot of at least 5 acres, so backyard chickens are effectively off-limits on an ordinary Butler house lot.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Yes, with conditions |
| Hens | 1 per acre, with 60 sq ft of housing per bird, once you meet the 5-acre floor |
| Roosters | Not specified |
| Permit | No health permit in residential districts; conditional-use approval needed outside them |
| Coop setback | At least 100 ft from a neighbor's dwelling, 50 ft from the dwelling on the lot, 25 ft from side/rear lines, 75 ft from the street |
| Lot size | Minimum 5 acres to keep poultry |
| Ducks | Not addressed in the code |
Good to know
- The zoning standards table sets poultry at a 5-acre minimum, one bird per acre.
- Because of the 5-acre floor, keeping chickens on a standard residential lot is effectively not allowed.
- Confirmed Morris County Butler, not Butler PA or MO.
What about ducks?
Butler lists poultry as a permitted animal only on lots of at least five acres, one bird per acre, and bans any animal not on its list. The code never defines poultry or mentions ducks, so confirm with the borough.
§ 143-173.3: "Poultry 5 1 per acre 60 C. The keeping of any animal not specifically listed above is prohibited." Duck coops we build.
Building a coop in Borough of Butler?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across Morris 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 Morris County towns
Compare them side by side in the Morris 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.