Where It’s Legal To Have Backyard Chickens In Minnesota

Sick of skyrocketing egg prices and limits on how many you can purchase? If your family is powering through more eggs than you can get your hands on, you might be thinking - why not get your own chickens?

I'm not going to lie, I've TOTALLY considered it, and I know I'm not alone. According to Fox Business, chicken breeders have experienced a 500% surge in inquiries from people wanting to breed their own chickens for eggs.

Did you know that each hen can lay about one egg per day, meaning you could be collecting anywhere from 8-14 eggs a week if you have a couple chickens of your own?!

But, before you start naming your future flock, there are a few things to consider. Raising chickens isn’t just about fresh eggs on the regular. It takes time, effort, and some upfront costs. Plus, not every Minnesota city is cool with backyard flocks.

Most require permits, others cap how many chickens you can have, and several have a strict no-rooster policy. Here’s a look at the rules in some of Minnesota’s largest cities.

St. Paul:

St. Paul has a two-tier program when it comes to backyard chickens. Both require you checking with the neighbors!

Tier One lets you have up to six hens with a $26 permit, but you need to inform your adjacent neighbors in writing before bringing any chickens home. And expect a yearly visit from Animal Control to make sure everything’s up to code.

Tier Two allows you to have up to 15 hens. If you want to go this route however, you need a petition with signatures from 75% of neighbors within 150 feet. The permit is also pricier costing you $76.

Roosters are prohibited in St. Paul.

Duluth:

Backyard chickens are welcome in Duluth. You can have up to 5 hens and a permit is required to have them. The cost of the annual permit is just $12.

However, it's a girls club in Duluth - no roosters allowed!

Winona:

Looks like Winona changed their rules back in 2008 to allow chickens within city limits. Now, you are allowed to have up to 12 hens, according to the Winona Daily News.

Like many other cities, slaughtering of the chickens in the city is not allowed, they must be contained (not inside a residential property), and the pens/coop must be clean and odor free.

Saint Cloud:

You can raise up to four chickens in your backyard in St. Cloud with an approved permit. The $25 permit is good for a year and the renewal fee is $10.

You need at least 3 square feet per chicken in the coop. St. Cloud has a rule that the chicken is for personal use only - you can not sell the hen, eggs, or manure. Roosters are and breeding of chickens is not allowed.

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Rochester:

In Rochester, you can keep up to three hens with a permit, and if you’ve got an educational reason, you might be able to get approval for up to 12. You're not allowed to have roosters in city limits.

Also See: There's a Limit to How Many Animals You Can Have in Rochester

The permit will only set you back $20 (so, what? The cost of two dozen eggs at this point...) and is good until December 31st of the second year.

Minneapolis:

You can keep chickens, turkeys, ducks, pigeons and quail with a fowl permit. To have any of these birds in Minneapolis, you must attend an approved fowl education course and show proof of consent from your neighbors.

It doesn't appear that there is a limit to how many you can have in Minneapolis, but the permit fee is based on the number of chickens you have (1-3 is $30). Also, Minneapolis was the only city that I found that actually allows roosters!

If you're seriously considering bringing home your own flock, click here to check out a great PetMD article for everything you need to know about raising chickens.

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