Can you keep chickens in Borough of Surf City, NJ?

Name: Triano Farms
Address: 38 Haggerty Road, Branchville, NJ, 07826, US
Telephone: 973-846-1575
Price range: $$
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Unclear. The Surf City code has no rule on chickens or poultry, but its residential zones prohibit any use not on their permitted list, and animal keeping is not listed.

The rules at a glance

Chickens allowed	Unclear
Hens	Not specified
Roosters	Not specified
Permit	Not specified
Coop setback	Not specified
Lot size	Not specified

Good to know

Chapter 8 (Animal Control) covers only dogs and cats.
Chapter 4 (Police Regulations, including nuisances) and Chapter 12 (Property Maintenance) have no poultry rule.
RA zone accessory uses are garages, greenhouses and garage apartments; RAA zone also allows uses normally incidental to a one-family home.

Source: Borough of Surf City Code (eCode360), § 30-6.2 and § 30-6.3 (RA Residential Zone); § 30-7.2 and § 30-7.3 (RAA Residential Zone); Ch. 8, Animal Control (view the ordinance)

Verified 2026-09. Ordinances change and zoning can differ by district; always confirm the current rules with the Borough of Surf City clerk or zoning office before you build.

Chicken rules in nearby Ocean County towns

Compare them side by side in the Ocean County table.

Barnegat Barnegat Light Bay Head Beach Haven Beachwood Berkeley Brick Eagleswood Harvey Cedars Island Heights Jackson Lacey Lakehurst Lakewood Lavallette Little Egg Harbor Long Beach Manchester Mantoloking Ocean (Ocean County)Ocean Gate Pine Beach Plumsted Point Pleasant Point Pleasant Beach Seaside Heights Seaside Park Ship Bottom South Toms River Stafford Toms River Tuckerton

Building a coop in Borough of Surf City?

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.

Get a free quote See our coops

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.

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