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City Council OKs Plan to Bring Back Backyard Chickens With New Rules for Roosters

Official:Amending Chapter 10-100 of The Philadelphia Code, entitled “Animals,” to revise certain provisions relating to the ownership of chickens, roosters, and hens; and making technical changes; all under certain terms and conditions.

Sponsor: Councilmember Jones

Introduced: May 12, 2022

: Committee on the Environment

backyard chickenssocial services zoning

No one voted on this bill

This bill was introduced in the 2020–2023 Council term and when that term ran out. The public record shows no committee vote and no floor vote at any stage, so no member of Council ever went on record for or against it.

That is not unusual here. Of the 8,465 bills introduced between 2000 and 2025, 1,624 lapsed without a single recorded vote. Ninety percent of bills that became law carry a roll call. Three percent of lapsed bills do. How this works.

Plain-Language Summary

This bill revises Philadelphia's laws regarding backyard chickens, allowing residents to keep up to six hens in a fully enclosed coop with a minimum of one square foot per hen and an open area (chicken run) of at least two square feet per hen.

What This Bill Does

AI-written. Every figure is checked against the bill text.

The maximum number of hens allowed per residential dwelling unit is increased from an unspecified number (presumably zero, since no previous maximum was mentioned) to six (6) hens.
Hens must be kept in a fully enclosed coop with a minimum of one square foot per hen.
In addition to the coop, there must be an open area (chicken run) with a minimum of two square feet per hen.
The definition of a "farm animal" in Section 10-101 has been left unchanged.