Keeping birds and poultry

Rules for keeping birds and poultry

If you want to keep poultry (including chickens, turkey and geese) on your property, and you are not an exempt commercial business, you must comply with the following rules as set out in our Local Laws.

If your property is in an urban zone and measures less than 4,000 m², you must keep poultry in a bird enclosure. Residents are not allowed to have large/noisy birds or roosters.

Definition of large and/or noisy birds

In relation to keeping an animal, any large and/or noisy bird capable of causing disturbance or discomfort to neighbours particularly by noise, such as a cockatoo, macaw, peacock, large parrot, pheasant, rooster, turkey, goose or other similar-sized bird or any other noisy bird regardless of size, but excludes poultry, a domestic bird, a pigeon or other small non-noisy bird.

Number of animals/birds you can keep

Type of animal	Maximum allowed
	Flats, apartments, units or townhouses	Land less than 4,000 sqm	Land between 4,000 and 20,000 sqm	Land 20,000 sqm or greater
Dogs	2	2	4	5
Cats	2	2	4	5
Poultry	Not allowed	12	24	Not regulated by Local Law
Pigs	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not regulated by Local Law
Large and/or noisy birds (including roosters)	Not allowed	Not allowed	5	Not regulated by Local Law
Pigeons	Not allowed	12 pairs	20 pairs	Not regulated by Local Law
Domestic birds (caged, excluding large and/or noisy birds)	6	30	Not regulated by Local Law	Not regulated by Local Law
Domestic rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs and mice	2	4	Not regulated by Local Law	Not regulated by Local Law
Horses, donkeys, camels	Not allowed	Not allowed	1	Not regulated by Local Law
Cattle	Not allowed	Not allowed	1	Not regulated by Local Law
Sheep, goats and alpacas	Not allowed	Not allowed	2	Not regulated by Local Law
Large introduced animal (e.g. deer, elks)	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed

Get a permit to keep multiple animals

Apply for an excess animal permit

Bird health and storage of food

If you keep any birds on your property, you must:

provide an enclosure that is well protected from the elements and well ventilated
ensure the enclosure has predator barriers including underneath the enclosure
provide clean drinking water at all times
ensure any waste or other matter is not left to become offensive or dangerous to health
remove any matter that is likely to attract or harbour rodents or other vermin immediately
dispose of any dead or diseased bird.

You must store bird food in a vermin-proof container.

Help for injured native birds and wildlife

If you find any injured birds or wildlife, you can call the 24-hour wildlife emergency hotline on 03 8400 7300.

For more information, visit the Wildlife Victoria website.