Can you keep chickens in Hillsborough Township, NJ?
Yes. Hillsborough permits backyard fowl in its residential districts, with no numeric hen limit in the code. The main rule is a 50-foot setback from any side or rear property line. Despite what some blogs say, the adopted code contains no rooster ban.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Yes |
| Hens | No numeric limit |
| Roosters | Not specified: no rooster ban in the adopted code |
| Permit | Not specified |
| Coop setback | 50 ft from any side or rear property line (backyard flock) |
| Lot size | No minimum stated |
| Ducks | Not addressed in the code |
Good to know
- Poultry may not run at large.
- A 'rooster ban' is repeated online but appears only in board minutes, not the adopted ordinance. Confirm with the township.
What about ducks?
Unclear. Hillsborough regulates 'fowl' and poultry as agricultural uses but never defines them or mentions ducks, so check with the township.
§ 188-98: "No building for the shelter of fowl or farm livestock, other than swine, shall be closer to any side or rear property line or residential zone boundary than 100 feet" Duck coops we build.
Building a coop in Hillsborough Township?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across Somerset 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 Somerset County towns
Compare them side by side in the Somerset 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.