Can you keep chickens in Town of Morristown, NJ?
Morristown, the county seat, allows hens only if the coop and run sit at least 50 feet from every property line, which makes them infeasible on most in-town lots. Roosters need a Health permit, and no more than two birds may be kept indoors as pets.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Yes, with conditions |
| Hens | No outdoor cap stated; indoors, at most 2 kept as pets and removed after 6 weeks of age |
| Roosters | Prohibited within town limits except by permit from the Division of Health |
| Permit | Written Health Division permission required to place a coop closer than 50 ft; a Health permit is required for roosters |
| Coop setback | No part of a coop, house, or run may be less than 50 ft from any property line or from a neighbor's doors and windows |
| Lot size | Not specified (the 50-ft-from-all-lines rule is the effective constraint) |
| Ducks | Not addressed in the code |
Good to know
- Fowl must be confined in a coop with an enclosed run and may not run at large.
- This is an older Health-code provision, not a modern backyard-hen ordinance.
- A resident petition exists seeking to modernize the rule.
What about ducks?
Probably, but not spelled out. Morristown's rules cover 'fowl' kept for domestic use, including the 50-foot coop setback, but fowl isn't defined and ducks aren't mentioned, so check with the Division of Health.
§ 25-9.1: "No part of a coop, house or runway shall be less than 50 feet from any property line" Duck coops we build.
Building a coop in Town of Morristown?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across Morris 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 Morris County towns
Compare them side by side in the Morris 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.