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Hillsborough · Building on your lot

Pets, chickens and bees in Hillsborough

Hillsborough's own rules on pets, chickens and bees, with the code text for every value.

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Each rule below links to the section of the Hillsborough Municipal Code it was read from, with the code text one click away (checked October 2026). General information, not legal advice.

What Hillsborough's code says

Hillsborough code What Hillsborough's code adds
Bees
  • Allowed: no more than 3 hives per residential property, and no more than 3 in town per owner.
    Applies: Each hive must be more than 50 feet from any street, home or public gathering place.
    § 6.24.010 · code text
    The total number of hives or swarms kept within the town by the owner of the bees does not exceed three, and no more than three hives or swarms are kept on any one residential property within the town ("residential property" meaning the legal parcel or contiguous legal parcels which together are used as the location for one residence).
Chickens
  • Fowl must be kept in an escape-proof enclosure; the number is not stated.
    Applies: Applies to all fowl kept in town.
    § 6.24.040 · code text
    All fowl permitted to be kept within the town shall be kept and confined within a yard, pen, corral, chicken or bird house, or other enclosure (all hereinafter referred to as "enclosure" or "enclosures") so constructed as to make escape impossible.
Coop setback
  • At least 125 feet from any home the resident does not own, lease or control.
    Applies: Applies to any part of a fowl enclosure.
    § 6.24.040 · code text
    No part of any enclosure shall be within one hundred twenty-five feet of any dwelling that is not owned, leased, or otherwise controlled by the resident of the property on which the enclosure is located.

Who this affects

HomeownersContractorsDesigners

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep chickens or bees at my home in Hillsborough?

Hillsborough's code: Fowl must be kept in an escape-proof enclosure; the number is not stated. (Applies to all fowl kept in town.) (§ 6.24.040); Allowed: no more than 3 hives per residential property, and no more than 3 in town per owner. (Each hive must be more than 50 feet from any street, home or public gathering place.) (§ 6.24.010).

General information, not legal advice.

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Hillsborough Municipal Code — full text