About
Those residents that adhere to the regulations described below, including the licensure and permit requirements, may keep up to eight (8) chickens in a coop. Please contact Village Hall with any questions regarding the keeping of chickens.
Requirements
Regulations
The following list of regulations is not all-inclusive. Please see the entirety of the regulations governing the keeping of chickens on residential properties. Note: the regulations have recently been amended which may not yet show in the code; the regulations now allow eight (8) chickens, allow runs up to seven feet (7') in height, and allow chicks to be kept inside until fully feathered.
General
- No more than 8 chickens may be kept on a property.
- No roosters may be kept on a property.
- Chickens may only be kept on single-family, detached residential properties.
- No chickens may be kept inside any buildings except a coop once fully-feathered.
- Chickens may not be bred, slaughtered, or used for any commercial purpose including selling eggs.
- All chickens must be kept in a coop from sundown to sunup.
Coops & Pens
- Coops and pens may only be located in the rear yard or the rear-half of a side yard.
- Coops may be located no closer than 10 feet to any property line and no closer than 25 feet to the nearest adjacent habitable building.
- Coops must be no taller than 10 feet, and pens/runs must be no taller than 7 feet.
- Coops must be no larger than 50 sqft in area, and pens/runs must be no larger than 100 sqft in area.
- If attached to a pen/run, coops must provide at least 4 sqft per chicken.
- If not attached to a pen/run, coops must provide at least 10 sqft per chicken.
- Coops must be designed, constructed and maintained so as to be impermeable by predators, birds, and rodents.
Screening
- Pens/runs must be effectively screened from all neighboring properties by fencing or landscaping at least 6' in height.
- Neighboring properties include all abutting properties and neighboring properties across streets.
- Screening may be traditional fencing, lattice paneling with gaps up to 1 1/4", trees/shrubs, etc. If using trees/shrubs, they must be at least 6' at planting and must provide screening year-round.
Note: Homeowners Associations (HOA) may have more restrictive regulations than the Village and may even prohibit the keeping of chickens. An HOA approval letter will be required for both the license application and the building permit application if applicable.
Annual License Required
The first step to having residential chickens is to obtain a license from Village Hall. The number of licenses is currently limited to 15. The online application is available below. Please wait to pay the license fee until after staff has contacted you with license approval.
The $20 license fee payable to the Village of Hampshire can be paid online via the Illinois E-Pay website, in-person at Village hall, or with a check in the mail. If paying online, please select the Building Permits option and then input "chicken license" into the permit number field.
Licenses are valid through December 31 of the year issued. A licensee must re-apply and pay for a renewed license no later than December 31. If an application to renew is received and/or paid for after December 31, such an application will be treated as a new licensee application reviewed on a first-come-first served basis. Click here to renew license.
Building Permit Required
After obtaining a residential chicken license, you must apply for a building permit before constructing or installing any coop or pen structures using the online CommunityCore permitting system. Required application documents include:
- a copy of your residential chicken license,
- a scaled drawing of the planned location for the structures on a plat of survey,
- information about the construction of the coop/pen including dimensions and materials,
- a description of how you intend to provide adequate screening, and
- an approval letter from your HOA, if applicable.