Can you keep chickens in Township of Lacey, NJ?
Unclear. Lacey's code does not address keeping chickens on a residential lot; the Animals chapter covers only dogs, horses and cats, and poultry appears only as part of agriculture in the Pinelands zones.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Unclear |
| Hens | Not specified |
| Roosters | Not specified |
| Permit | Not specified |
| Coop setback | Not specified for backyard hens; in the Pinelands FA and VR zones no building within 100 feet of a lot line may shelter fowl |
| Lot size | Not specified |
Good to know
- Searched the Lacey code for chicken, chickens, poultry, fowl, hens and rooster; no keeping-of-chickens section came back.
- Chapter 134, Animals, contains only Article I Dogs, Article II Horses and Article III Cats.
- Agriculture is a permitted use in the Pinelands Forest Area and Village Residential zones, where shelters for fowl must be at least 100 feet from any lot line.
- Township minutes from 2022 record a proposed ordinance to regulate keeping chickens and other fowl, but no such section appears in the code or in the New Laws list.
Source: Township of Lacey Code (eCode360), Ch. 134, Animals (§ 134-1 through § 134-13) (view the ordinance)
Verified 2026-09. Ordinances change and zoning can differ by district; always confirm the current rules with the Township of Lacey clerk or zoning office before you build.
Chicken rules in nearby Ocean County towns
Building a coop in Township of Lacey?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across OceanCounty 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.