Can you keep chickens in Borough of Hamburg, NJ?
Hamburg has no backyard-hen ordinance. Poultry is regulated only as farm animals: a flock of up to 50 birds counts as one animal unit, which requires 3 contiguous acres and a shelter set back 50 feet from your home and every property line.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Yes, with conditions |
| Hens | Up to 50 poultry = one animal unit (per 3 acres) |
| Roosters | Not specified |
| Permit | Not specified (accessory use, decided case by case by the zoning officer) |
| Coop setback | Shelter at least 50 ft from the main building and 50 ft from any property line |
| Lot size | 3 contiguous acres per animal unit |
| Ducks | Not addressed in the code |
Good to know
- Zoning § 215-22.1 counts 50 poultry as one "animal unit" and requires 3 contiguous acres for each unit.
- The animals chapter covers only cats, dogs, and wildlife feeding, not chickens.
- House pets living inside the home are exempt, but poultry in a coop is not a house pet.
What about ducks?
Unclear. Hamburg counts up to 50 poultry as one animal unit needing 3 acres, but it never defines poultry or mentions ducks, so check with the borough.
§ 215-22.1: "An "animal unit" shall be defined as the equivalent of one cow, one horse, one pony, one mule; up to two hogs, five sheep, five goats, 50 poultry or two llamas." Duck coops we build.
Building a coop in Borough of Hamburg?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across Sussex 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 Sussex County towns
Compare them side by side in the Sussex 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.