NJ chicken rules · Mercer County
Can you keep chickens in Township of East Windsor, NJ?
East Windsor has no chicken, fowl, or general animal-keeping ordinance; poultry appears in the code only in the right-to-farm chapter, so backyard-hen keeping is left to zoning and needs a call to the township.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Unclear |
| Hens | Not specified |
| Roosters | Not specified |
| Permit | Not specified |
| Coop setback | — |
| Lot size | — |
Good to know
- There's no general animals chapter, only dog licensing; code searches for "chicken" and "fowl" return nothing.
- "Poultry" appears only in the right-to-farm chapter, in the context of protected farming, not residential keeping.
- A homeowner would fall under the zoning permitted-use rules; check with the township before building.
Source: Township of East Windsor Code, Ch. 26 Right to Farm (eCode360), Ch. 26 §§ 26-2, 26-4; no chicken provision — view the ordinance
Verified 2026-09. Ordinances change and zoning can differ by district — always confirm the current rules with the Township of East Windsor clerk or zoning office before you build.
Building a coop in Township of East Windsor?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across MercerCounty and all of New Jersey, sized to your flock and built to your town's rules.
New to this? Start with how to raise chickens in NJ, or what a coop costs.
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