Can you keep chickens in Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ?
Yes, with a $20 license from the Board of Health that renews each year. The license sets the most birds you can keep, and the board can refuse or revoke it if the flock is a nuisance to neighbors.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Yes, with conditions |
| Hens | Set by the license (no fixed number in the code) |
| Roosters | Gamecocks and other fighting birds are banned; other roosters not specified |
| Permit | Required: $20 Board of Health license, expires December 31 |
| Coop setback | Not specified |
| Lot size | No minimum stated |
Good to know
- The license rule covers chickens, ducks and other poultry.
- The application must describe the land and give its dimensions. The license names the place and the maximum number of birds.
- The Board of Health can revoke a license if the birds become a nuisance to people living nearby.
- Zoning (Ch. 85) doesn't mention poultry. Two 2026 zoning ordinances not yet in the code cover cannabis and building height, not animals.
Source: Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus Code (eCode360), Ch. 29, Art. V, §§ 29-19 to 29-25, Keeping of Poultry (view the ordinance)
Verified 2026-09. Ordinances change and zoning can differ by district; always confirm the current rules with the Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus clerk or zoning office before you build.
Chicken rules in nearby Bergen County towns
Compare them side by side in the Bergen County table.
AllendaleAlpineBergenfieldBogotaCarlstadtCliffside ParkClosterCresskillDemarestDumontEast RutherfordEdgewaterElmwood ParkEmersonEnglewoodEnglewood CliffsFair LawnFairviewFort LeeFranklin LakesGarfieldGlen RockHackensackHarrington ParkHasbrouck HeightsHaworthHillsdaleLeoniaLittle FerryLodiLyndhurstMahwahMaywoodMidland ParkMontvaleMoonachieNew MilfordNorth ArlingtonNorthvaleNorwoodOaklandOld TappanOradellPalisades ParkParamusPark RidgeRamseyRidgefieldRidgefield ParkRidgewoodRiver EdgeRiver ValeRochelle ParkRockleighRutherfordSaddle BrookSaddle RiverSouth HackensackTeaneckTenaflyUpper Saddle RiverWaldwickWallingtonWashingtonWestwoodWood-RidgeWoodcliff LakeWyckoff
Building a coop in Borough of Ho-Ho-Kus?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across BergenCounty 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.
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.