Can you keep chickens in Borough of Upper Saddle River, NJ?
Upper Saddle River treats chickens as ordinary household pets, so no permit is needed, but the household is capped at four pets total (chickens count), roosters are excluded, and coops must sit 35 feet (R-1) or 15 feet (R-2) off every property line in the rear yard.
The rules at a glance
| Chickens allowed | Yes, with conditions |
| Hens | Counted toward a 4-pet household total |
| Roosters | Prohibited (excluded from the household-pet definition) |
| Permit | Not required (special permission only for an undersized coop) |
| Coop setback | 35 ft from property lines in R-1; 15 ft in R-2; rear yard only |
| Lot size | Not specified |
| Ducks | Not allowed |
Good to know
- Chickens are a permitted household pet; ducks, geese, roosters, turkeys, goats, and sheep are not.
- The four-pet cap is combined across all household pets, including dogs and cats.
- Breeding or keeping for commercial purposes is prohibited, and coops are barred from front yards.
What about ducks?
No. Upper Saddle River lets chickens count as household pets, but its code expressly says ducks are not household pets, so the backyard allowance doesn't cover them.
§ 164-1: "A household pet shall not include ducks, rodents, roosters, geese, horses, turkeys, goats and sheep." Duck coops we build.
Building a coop in Borough of Upper Saddle River?
Triano Farms builds custom, predator-proof chicken coops on-site across Bergen 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 Bergen County towns
Compare them side by side in the Bergen 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.