New Mexico Backyard Chicken Laws: Permits, Limits & Setbacks by City and Town
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Overview of New Mexico Chicken Laws
Is it legal to keep chickens in city limits or residential areas in New Mexico?
Generally yes. New Mexico has no statewide hen cap, rooster ban, or backyard permit. Las Cruces allows up to 6 hens off agricultural zoning and requires a permit. Rio Rancho allows up to 7 hens on lots of at least one-half acre in E-1 or R-1 and bans roosters. Roswell scales hens by lot size (4 under 0.4 acre; 10 on 0.4–1 acre; 25 per acre over 1 acre) and bans roosters. Albuquerque and Santa Fe do not have published limits.
Are roosters allowed in New Mexico residential areas?
Often no in the larger cities. Las Cruces, Rio Rancho, and Roswell ban roosters. Unincorporated agricultural land is usually more open. Bernalillo County R-1 and R-2 lots still bar roosters.
Important: ⚠️Always verify with your local jurisdiction or HOA before you build your coop.
Official Sources & Data Integrity
We reference New Mexico municipal bylaws and ordinances from verified platforms like ecode360.com, municode.com, and local government websites at the time of publication.
New Mexico Department of Agriculture — Biosecurity
New Mexico Department of Agriculture — Egg Inspections
New Mexico Department of Agriculture — HPAI
When a city or county has no published ordinance available in the sources above, we state “no publicly available ordinance data.” This does not mean chickens are banned — only that we could not locate a citable published rule. See our disclaimer below.
⚠️ Important: New Mexico ordinances may change without notice. Always verify the current rules with your local jurisdiction and any HOA before starting a flock.
New Mexico Major Cities Ordinances
Refer to our Official Sources below for data integrity.
Note: Not specified means the city code does not set that number. No published ordinance means no hen, rooster, permit, or setback rule was found in the city’s published code.
Albuquerque, NM
Hen Limit: Not specified | Roosters: Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
Las Cruces, NM
Hen Limit: Up to 6 hens in areas not zoned for agriculture | Roosters: Not Allowed | Permit: Required | Setback: Not specified
Rio Rancho, NM
Hen Limit: Up to 7 hens on lots of at least 1/2 acre in E-1 or R-1 | Roosters: Not Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
Santa Fe, NM
Hen Limit: Not specified | Roosters: Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
Roswell, NM
Hen Limit: 4 hens under 0.4 acre; 10 hens on 0.4–1 acre; 25 hens per acre over 1 acre | Roosters: Not Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
Farmington, NM
Hen Limit: Not specified | Roosters: Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
Hobbs, NM
Hen Limit: Not specified | Roosters: Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
Clovis, NM
Hen Limit: Not specified | Roosters: Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
Carlsbad, NM
Hen Limit: Not specified | Roosters: Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
Alamogordo, NM
Hen Limit: Not specified | Roosters: Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
New Mexico Ordinances by City & County
Bernalillo County, NM
Tijeras, NM
Tijeras, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Sandia Park, NM
Sandia Park, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Cibola County, NM
Grants, NM
Grants, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Colfax County, NM
Raton, NM
Raton, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Doña Ana County, NM
Anthony, NM
Anthony, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Chaparral, NM
Chaparral, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Santa Teresa, NM
Santa Teresa, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Sunland Park, NM
Sunland Park, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Eddy County, NM
Artesia, NM
Artesia, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Grant County, NM
Silver City, NM
Silver City, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Lea County, NM
Lovington, NM
Lovington, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Los Alamos County, NM
Los Alamos, NM
Los Alamos, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Luna County, NM
Deming, NM
Deming, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
McKinley County, NM
Gallup, NM
Gallup, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Rio Arriba County, NM
Española, NM
Española, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Roosevelt County, NM
Portales, NM
Portales, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
San Juan County, NM
Aztec, NM
Aztec, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Bloomfield, NM
Bloomfield, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Kirtland, NM
Kirtland, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Shiprock, NM
Shiprock, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
San Miguel County, NM
Las Vegas, NM
Las Vegas, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Sandoval County, NM
Bernalillo, NM
Bernalillo, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Corrales, NM
Corrales, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Santa Fe County, NM
Edgewood, NM
Edgewood, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Socorro County, NM
Socorro, NM
Socorro, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Taos County, NM
Taos, NM
Taos, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Ranchos de Taos, NM
Ranchos de Taos, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Torrance County, NM
Moriarty, NM
Moriarty, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Valencia County, NM
Los Lunas, NM
Los Lunas, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Belen, NM
Belen, NM has no publicly available ordinance data for hen limits, roosters, permits, or setbacks.
Unincorporated Areas & Rural Counties
Outside city limits, county development codes apply. Poultry is often a permitted agricultural use. The New Mexico Right to Farm Act (NMSA 1978, §§ 47-9-1 to 47-9-7) can shield an established farm from a nuisance claim based on later nearby development. It does not cancel a city ordinance if the lot is already inside city limits.
Bernalillo County (unincorporated)
Hen Limit: Unlimited in A-1 and A-2; up to 15 hens in R-1 and R-2 | Roosters: Not Allowed in R-1 and R-2 | Permit: Not required for personal use | Setback: 20 ft from a neighboring dwelling
North Valley and South Valley lots usually follow county rules, not Albuquerque’s city code.
Santa Fe County (unincorporated)
Hen Limit: Up to 12 hens on lots under 1 acre; more on larger lots (Sustainable Land Development Code) | Roosters: Allowed on lots of 2.5 acres or more | Permit: Not required | Setback: 25 ft from property lines
Doña Ana County (unincorporated)
Hen Limit: No posted cap if density is about 1 bird per 2,000 sq ft of open area | Roosters: Allowed | Permit: Not required | Setback: Not specified
Night noise rules can still apply if crowing carries into a neighbor’s house.
Zoning, Permits, Coops, and HOAs
New Mexico leaves hen numbers to cities and counties. A coop is an accessory structure, so yard placement follows the zoning map even when the animal code never names a hen cap. Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces write their own rules. Unincorporated Bernalillo, Santa Fe, and Doña Ana County use the county development code instead.
There is no statewide backyard poultry license. A recorded covenant can ban birds where the city or county allows them. Search the deed and plat before you build. Confirm any building permit for a permanent coop with planning or code enforcement.
Selling Backyard Eggs in New Mexico
Small flocks can sell shell eggs direct to the end consumer. Keep the sale personal-use unless you meet New Mexico Department of Agriculture egg-handler rules. Farm-gate and farmers-market cartons fit that path. Wholesale to a store does not.
Label the carton with the producer name and address. Hold eggs clean and cold. A city hen permit is not an egg license. An HOA can still bar on-site sales.
New Mexico Poultry Slaughter Rules
Birds you raise and process for your household, nonpaying guests, and employees follow the federal household exemption. Do not sell that meat.
Meat for sale must go through a USDA-inspected plant or a federal small-producer exemption (1,000 or 20,000 birds a year) with limits on where you can sell. Cities can still bar slaughter in a residential yard. Ask the local animal or health office before you process a bird on the lot.
Essential Guides for Backyard Chicken Success
High-altitude New Mexico sun can degrade materials quickly; our UV-resistant DIY coop guide suggests the best finishes and roofing to endure the climate. For ongoing care, view our Ultimate Backyard Chicken Coop Management Guide.