Can you keep chickens in Borough of Merchantville, NJ?
Yes, with a $25 annual borough license. Up to 8 hens per license, no roosters, and the coop must be 10 feet from a neighbor's home.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Yes, with conditions |
| Hens | Up to 8 hens |
| Roosters | Prohibited |
| Permit | Required: $25 annual license, plus a backyard chicken class |
| Coop setback | 10 ft from the habitable part of a neighboring home |
| Lot size | No minimum stated |
| Rule adopted | July 2019 |
| Ducks | Not allowed |
Good to know
- Open to single-family, twin and row homes that meet the criteria; new households beyond earlier license holders are considered one by one by the Chicken Advisory Board.
- Coop and run max 6 ft tall; hens may roam a fenced backyard only while an adult is present.
- No slaughter and no selling of eggs.
- Licenses expire December 31 each year.
What about ducks?
No. Merchantville bans keeping livestock and fowl, and its code defines fowl to include ducks; only licensed backyard hens are allowed.
§ 9-1; § 9-56; §§ 9-56.1 to 9-56.6: "FOWL Any chicken, turkey, geese, duck, emu, ostrich or any other fowl customarily found on a farm, and pigeons." Duck coops we build.
Building a coop in Borough of Merchantville?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across Camden 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 Camden County towns
Compare them side by side in the Camden 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.