Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. There are no ordinances that directly restrict the raising of backyard poultry in Highland Park.

However, there are several zoning requirements that restrict where you can put permanent coops or sheds, but these can be navigated by asking the Highland Park Planning & Zoning Board.

Yes, but a rooster has its challenges.

Where there are no prohibitions directly against keeping roosters, you must keep them in such a way that does not violate the municipal Noise Ordinance §266-2B(4) which reads:

The following acts, and the causing thereof, are declared to be in violation of this chapter: [...] Owning, possessing or harboring any animal or bird which frequently or for continued duration, howls, barks, meows, squawks, or makes other sounds which create a noise disturbance across a residential real property boundary or within a noise-sensitive zone between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and the following 8:00 a.m.

A "noise disturbance" in a residential area is defined as a sound at 50dB (decibels) or louder measured at the property line. In contrast, a rooster's crow – without remediation – can be upwards of 120dB.

However, a rooster can be successfully kept within the noise ordinance requirements by using a combination of the following strategies:

• Sound-insulating and blacking out your rooster's coop,

• Training them to a no-crow collar,

• Occasionally checking noise levels at your property line; and,

• Communicating with your neighbors so that in the event that they are being too loud, you can make adjustments.

With the above methods – and some vigilance – a rooster can be kept quieter than a dog.

HPAI is a poultry disease (non-communicable to humans) that has recently broken out across the country and is of concern among poultry growers.

Learn more about it by reading our article on Avian Influenza here.