Bill
HB 6108
Rhode Island would allow single-family homeowners to keep up to 10 backyard hens, with strict coop, site, and care requirements and no commercial slaughter or sale.
Status: Referred to House Environment & Natural Resources; committee recommended holding for further study (04/09/2025). Introduced: March 19, 2025 (Rep. Joseph J. Solomon). Becomes effective upon passage.
Purpose
- Adds a new section (2-23-8) to Rhode Island’s Right to Farm chapter to expressly allow residents to keep backyard hens (female chickens) statewide, subject to the bill’s requirements, local ordinances, and private property restrictions. The law expressly disallows commercial slaughter or sale of hens.
Key provisions and requirements
- Permitted owners: Only a resident of the dwelling on the lot may own/keep the hens.
- Lot definition: One or more contiguous parcels under the same ownership (tax records) zoned residential or residential as a legal nonconforming use.
- Density and caps:
- One hen per 800 square feet of total lot area.
- Maximum of 10 hens per lot.
- Prohibitions:
- Roosters are prohibited.
- Hens are not permitted on parts of the property that directly abut a main road or street.
- Raising hens is limited to backyards or side yards.
- Coops and runs:
- Coop maximum height: 8 feet; maximum area: 64 square feet.
- Coop cannot be attached to a shared (property line) fence.
- Coop and run must be at least 20 feet from any residential structure on an adjacent property and must meet local zoning setback rules.
- Coop must provide at least 2 square feet per chicken (minimum interior space), be covered, predator-resistant, ventilated, and located on a permeable surface that prevents waste runoff.
- All above-ground openings must be covered with 1/2" hardware cloth; coop walls/floor and surrounding area must be enclosed with 1/2" hardware cloth buried at least 12 inches to block predators.
- Runs must be fully enclosed on sides and top, kept clean and sanitary; manure must be composted in enclosed bins.
- Care and control:
- Hens must be fed regularly; feed stored securely.
- Hens must be confined to the coop from sunset to sunrise.
- Priority of restrictions:
- Private restrictions (deed restrictions, condominium master deeds, HOA by-laws, covenants) remain enforceable and take precedence over this state law. Interpretation/enforcement of private restrictions is left to private parties.
- Local control:
- Individual cities and towns may modify the limits in this section by ordinance.
Who is affected
- Residential property owners who want to keep hens (urban, suburban, rural).
- Neighbors (noise, nuisance, public health considerations).
- Municipal governments (authority to adopt/adjust local ordinances).
- Homeowner associations and private parties enforcing deed covenants (private restrictions remain binding).
Potential impacts
- Expands legal clarity for backyard hen-keeping statewide while imposing operational, health, predator-control, and nuisance-limiting standards.
- Limits scale of operations (no commercial sale/slaughter; max 10 hens; owner-occupation requirement).
- Maintains local government discretion and preserves private covenants, so practical allowance will vary across municipalities and communities.
Procedural/timeline notes
- Introduced March 19, 2025; referred to House Environment & Natural Resources. Committee recommended the measure be held for further study on April 9, 2025. If enacted, the statute takes effect upon passage.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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