Can you keep chickens in Township of Ewing, NJ?
Ewing expressly allows backyard hens on residential lots with a $20/year Health Department license, capping the flock by lot size and banning roosters.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Yes, with conditions |
| Hens | By lot size: 4 (under 7,500 sf), 6 (7,500+ sf), 10 (over 40,000 sf) |
| Roosters | Prohibited |
| Permit | Required (Health Department license, $20/year, with a zoning permit and an initial inspection) |
| Coop setback | Rear yard only; coop up to 6 ft tall and 100 sq ft total, screened by a hedge or fence; not in a wellhead-protection area |
| Lot size | No minimum; lot size sets the hen cap instead |
| Ducks | Not allowed |
Good to know
- A new ordinance adopted July 2025 (Article IV, "Chickens").
- Chickens only, no other fowl; no on-site slaughter and no selling chickens or eggs from the property.
- Renters need the owner's written consent, and the owner co-signs the license.
What about ducks?
Ewing bans ducks by name. Its 2025 backyard chicken ordinance says no one may keep female ducks, geese, guinea fowl or any other egg-laying fowl besides chickens anywhere in the township.
§ 97-21; § 97-17: "No person shall keep any female ducks, guinea fowl, geese, pigeons, birds, or other egg-laying fowl, other than chickens, within the Township." Duck coops we build.
Building a coop in Township of Ewing?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across Mercer 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 Mercer County towns
Compare them side by side in the Mercer 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.