There are some great benefits to having chickens in your backyard, however there are rules and regulations that relate to keeping poultry. Please check with Council if you are not sure if your property is affected by the following.
Roosters are not allowed
Roosters are not allowed to be kept across Burwood Council.
Rules for keeping chickens
There are rules and regulations for keeping chickens. These rules are in place to protect the health of your chickens and the Australian poultry industry.
Under the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008, Part 2, Division 1, Subdivision 21 states you:
- cannot have more than five fowl or poultry
- cannot house any roosters.
The chicken coop must be:
- limited to a floor area of 15m2
- a maximum height of 3m above ground level (existing)
- located in the rear yard
- limited to one per property
- a distance from the boundary of 3m
- located at least 4.5m from any dwelling, public hall, school or premises used for the manufacture, preparation, sale or storage of food
- made of materials that blend with the environment and be non-reflective
- adequately drained
- paved with concrete, mineral asphalt, or situated on clean sand underneath the roosts or perches
- occupied by no more than five fowls or poultry.
A fowl or poultry house can be constructed or installed on land in a residential zone, but not if the property is a heritage item or a draft heritage item.
The poultry yard must:
- be enclosed to prevent poultry from escaping
- at all times be kept clean and free from offensive odours.
Additional rules and regulations
See Local Government (General) Regulation 2005 - Schedule 2, Part 5, Division 2
Poultry are not to be kept near certain premises
- Fowls (that is, birds of the species Gallus gallus) or guinea fowls must not be kept within 4.5m (or such greater distance as the council may determine in a particular case) of a dwelling, public hall, school or premises used for the manufacture, preparation, sale or storage of food.
- Poultry (other than fowls referred to in subclause (1)) must not be kept within 30m of any building referred to in subclause (1).
- The floors of poultry houses must be paved with concrete or mineral asphalt underneath the roosts or perches. However, this subclause does not apply to poultry houses:
(a) that are not within 15.2m of a dwelling, public hall or school, or
(b) that are situated on clean sand.
The standards in this clause apply to a person only if the Council has served an order under section 124 of the Act to that effect on the person.