Keeping hens · Province rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Ontario, Canada?

Ontario municipalities may pass by-laws on animals, so check with yours. The province's page calls its premises registry voluntary; whether a law requires registration wasn't established.

Read from 6 official sources37 passages quotedChecked October 26, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Not established

Where hens can live

Set locally

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Rule with conditions
Set locally

Who decides where hens can live

The law we read gives a named local body its own powers over where hens can live. What the checked sources say:

  • A single-tier municipality may pass by-laws respecting animals. A lower-tier or upper-tier municipality may pass by-laws in the sphere of animals, subject to the Act’s rules on which tier holds that power.
  • Check with your municipal council for its by-laws on keeping chickens.

No province-wide permission for or ban on backyard chickens was found in sections 10 and 11 of the Municipal Act, 2001. The City of Toronto Act, 2006, any provincial farm-practices or right-to-farm law, and local by-laws were not read.

Registration: not established in the sources we read.

The law's own words are quoted under rules on keeping poultry below.

How to check: Look up the local rules where you live (the ordinances, bylaws or zoning of the body named here), or ask that office, before you get hens.

A sourced reading of the law in Ontario, Canada, not legal advice. Local bylaws and zoning, property or tenancy rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local rules before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Not established from the sources checked

Jurisdiction: Ontario

Applies to: Ontario’s Provincial Premises Registry Initiative (PPRI), as described on the province’s program page read on 26 October 2026.

Outside this finding's scope

  • The page describes the PPRI as voluntary. No other registration duty for poultry keepers was found in the sources read (that page); Minister’s Order 0005/2023 and the Animal Health Act regulations were not read, so this is not proof that none exists.
  • Registration does not give permission to keep chickens at a particular property.

What the checked sources say

  • Ontario’s page describes the PPRI as a voluntary premises identification database for emergency management and traceability. It registers parcels of land where agri-food activities occur and issues a Premises Identification Number (PID), which is linked to the land rather than to a business or person.
  • The page says agri-food business owners and operators, including tenants, lessees and people acting with the owner’s consent, can apply for a PID at no cost. Agricorp delivers the program for the ministry.
  • The page says registrants are responsible for updating or confirming their premises information at least every two years, and that Minister’s Order 0005/2023 prevails if the two conflict.

Authority: Agricorp, an agency of OMAFRA, which delivers the PPRI on behalf of the ministry

Fee: The province’s page says agri-food business owners and operators can apply for a PID at no cost.

The official wording

  • The PPRI is a voluntary premises identification database used for emergency management and traceability purposes.

    Overview · Checked

  • It is the only official provincial registry for: registering parcels of land in Ontario where agri-food activities occur obtaining a Premises Identification Number ( PID )

    Overview · Checked

  • PIDs differ from business registration numbers (for example Farm Business Registration, licenses or other business identifiers) because each PID is linked to a specific parcel of land rather than a business or person.

    Premises Identification Number · Checked

  • Agri-food business owners and operators (including tenants, lessees, or persons acting on behalf of an agri-food business operator owner with their consent) can apply for a PID at no cost.

    Eligible PID applicants · Checked

  • Agricorp , an agency of OMAFRA , is the service provider that delivers the PPR Initiative on behalf of the ministry.

    Service provider · Checked

  • PPRI registrants are responsible for: reading and agreeing to the PPRI consent statement providing information related to the premises to obtain a PID updating or confirming their premises information at least every two years

    Registrant requirements · Checked

  • The details on this page are subject to change. In the event of a conflict between the information provided here and Minister’s Order 0005/2023, the Minister’s Order will prevail.

    Authority for the Provincial Premises Registry Program · Checked

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

Check the official current-status page

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-10-26

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Conditions apply to this finding

Uses housing orders in this scope: Yes, according to the checked evidence, within the limits listed under “Outside this finding’s scope” below.

Jurisdiction: Ontario

Applies to: Quarantine orders by inspectors and animal health control area orders by the Minister under Ontario’s Animal Health Act, 2009 (consolidation from 6 June 2024), where “animal” means any creature that is not human, subject to the regulations.

Outside this finding's scope

  • These powers depend on a hazard (for example a disease) that needs to be contained or poses a significant risk. The sections read contain no general rule that birds must be kept indoors, and this finding does not establish that any order applies now.
  • Federal powers of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency were not read.

What the checked sources say

  • When an inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that a hazard exists or may be present at a premises and needs to be contained, the inspector may order the quarantine of the premises, or of an animal at it.
  • A quarantine order may direct how the owner or custodian is to provide care to the animals at the quarantined premises, and may require an animal to be isolated or separated from other animals there.
  • On the advice of the Chief Veterinarian for Ontario, the Minister may establish an animal health control area in any part of the province, or the whole province, to prevent, detect, control, suppress or mitigate a hazard that poses a significant risk to animal or human health. Notice of the order must be published on a Government of Ontario website.
  • Ontario’s avian influenza page says that for a suspected outbreak on a farm, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency will quarantine the flock under the Health of Animals Act until avian influenza is confirmed.
  • Current mandatory housing status remains unconfirmed; check with the Chief Veterinarian for Ontario.
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

  • “animal” means any creature that is not human and includes any other thing prescribed as an animal, but does not include any thing prescribed as excluded;

    s. 2, animal · Checked

  • 21 (1) When an inspector has reasonable grounds to believe that a hazard exists or may be present at or in any premises or any part of the premises and the hazard needs to be contained, the inspector may issue an order under this section to do one or more of the following:

    s. 21(1) · Checked

  • 1. Quarantine the premises or part of it. 2. Quarantine any of the following at or in the premises or part of it: i. an animal,

    s. 21(1), paras. 1-2 · Checked

  • (h) direct the manner in which the owner or custodian of the animals is to provide input or care to the animals at or in the quarantined premises;

    s. 21(2)(h) · Checked

  • (l) require the isolation of an animal or the separation of two or more animals from other animals present at or in the premises or on or in a conveyance;

    s. 21(2)(l) · Checked

  • 24 (1) On the advice of the Chief Veterinarian for Ontario, the Minister may issue a written order establishing an animal health control area in any part of the Province or for the entire Province

    s. 24(1) · Checked

  • 3. To prevent, detect, control, suppress or mitigate any one or more specific hazards if there is a significant risk to animal or human health in the Province.

    s. 24(1), para. 3 · Checked

  • (4) The Minister shall publish notice of the order on a website of the Government of Ontario and in any other manner the Minister considers appropriate.

    s. 24(4) · Checked

  • Consolidation Period: From June 6, 2024 to the

    header · Checked

  • The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will quarantine your flock under the authority of the Health of Animals Act until confirmation of avian influenza ( AI ) has been verified.

    What to do if you have a suspected outbreak of avian influenza on your farm · Checked

Small-flock welfare minimums

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Ontario

Applies to: Ontario’s Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act, 2019 (consolidation from 2 June 2026) and its Standards of Care and Administrative Requirements regulation, O. Reg. 444/19 (consolidation from 1 July 2022), which bind every person who owns or has custody or care of an animal.

Outside this finding's scope

  • The agricultural exceptions below turn on “reasonable and generally accepted practices of agricultural animal care, management or husbandry”. Whether keeping a small backyard flock is such an agricultural activity was not established from the sources read.

What the checked sources say

  • Every person who owns or has custody or care of an animal must comply with the standards of care. For all animals these require adequate and appropriate food and water, medical attention, the care necessary for general welfare, and a resting and sleeping area.
  • Every animal must also have adequate and appropriate space to move naturally and to exercise, sanitary conditions, ventilation, light, and protection from the elements, including harmful temperatures. A pen or other enclosure must be in a state of good repair.
  • The standards do not apply to agricultural animal care, management or husbandry carried on in accordance with reasonable and generally accepted practices, unless a standard expressly says it applies to that activity. A separate exception covers veterinarians providing care to their professional standards.
  • No person may cause an animal to be in distress, and no owner or custodian may permit it. Distress means being in need of proper care, water, food or shelter, being injured, sick, in pain or suffering, or being abused or neglected. The exceptions include agricultural activities carried on in accordance with standards that expressly apply to them or, where none do, with reasonable and generally accepted practices.

The official wording

  • 13 (1) Every person who owns or has custody or care of an animal shall comply with the standards of care and the administrative requirements with respect to every animal that the person owns or has custody or care of.

    s. 13(1) · Checked

  • (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of an activity regarding agricultural animal care, management or husbandry carried on in accordance with the reasonable and generally accepted practices of agricultural animal care, management or husbandry, unless the standards of care or administrative requirements expressly provide that they apply to that activity.

    s. 13(2) · Checked

  • (a) a veterinarian providing veterinary care, or boarding an animal as part of its care, in accordance with the standards of practice established under the Veterinarians Act;

    s. 13(3)(a) · Checked

  • 15 (1) No person shall cause an animal to be in distress. Permitting distress (2) No owner or custodian of an animal shall permit the animal to be in distress.

    s. 15(1)-(2) · Checked

  • (4) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) do not apply in respect of,

    s. 15(4) · Checked

  • (c) an activity regarding agricultural animal care, management or husbandry carried on in accordance with, (i) any standards of care or administrative requirements that expressly provide that they apply to that activity, or

    s. 15(4)(c)(i) · Checked

  • (ii) if no standards of care or administrative requirements expressly provide that they apply to that activity, the reasonable and generally accepted practices of agricultural animal care, management or husbandry;

    s. 15(4)(c)(ii) · Checked

  • “distress” means the state of being, (a) in need of proper care, water, food or shelter, (b) injured, sick, in pain or suffering, or (c) abused or subject to undue physical or psychological hardship, privation or neglect;

    s. 1, distress · Checked

  • Consolidation Period: From June 2, 2026 to the

    header · Checked

  • 1. (1) The basic standards of care applicable to all animals are set out in section 3.

    s. 1(1) · Checked

  • 3. (1) Every animal must be provided with adequate and appropriate food and water. (2) Every animal must be provided with adequate and appropriate medical attention. (3) Every animal must be provided with the care necessary for its general welfare.

    s. 3(1)-(3) · Checked

  • (5) Every animal must be provided with an adequate and appropriate resting and sleeping area. (6) Every animal must be provided with adequate and appropriate, (a) space to enable the animal to move naturally and to exercise; (b) sanitary conditions; (c) ventilation; (d) light; and (e) protection from the elements, including harmful temperatures.

    s. 3(5)-(6) · Checked

  • (7) If an animal is confined to a pen or other enclosed structure or area, (a) the pen or other enclosed structure or area, and any structures or material in it, must be in a state of good repair;

    s. 3(7)(a) · Checked

  • Consolidation Period: From July 1, 2022 to the

    header · Checked

Rules on keeping poultry

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Ontario

Applies to: The by-law powers of Ontario municipalities over animals under the Municipal Act, 2001 (consolidation from 2 June 2026).

Outside this finding's scope

  • No province-wide permission for or ban on backyard chickens was found in sections 10 and 11 of the Municipal Act, 2001. The City of Toronto Act, 2006, any provincial farm-practices or right-to-farm law, and local by-laws were not read.

What the checked sources say

  • A single-tier municipality may pass by-laws respecting animals. A lower-tier or upper-tier municipality may pass by-laws in the sphere of animals, subject to the Act’s rules on which tier holds that power.
  • Check with your municipal council for its by-laws on keeping chickens.

The official wording

  • (2) A single-tier municipality may pass by-laws respecting the following matters:

    s. 10(2) · Checked

  • 9. Animals. 10. Structures, including fences and signs.

    s. 10(2), paras. 9-10 · Checked

  • (3) A lower-tier municipality and an upper-tier municipality may pass by-laws, subject to the rules set out in subsection (4), respecting matters within the following spheres of jurisdiction:

    s. 11(3) · Checked

  • 8. Parking, except on highways. 9. Animals.

    s. 11(3), paras. 8-9 · Checked

  • 1. If a sphere or part of a sphere of jurisdiction is not assigned to an upper-tier municipality by the Table to this section, the upper-tier municipality does not have the power to pass by-laws under that sphere or part

    s. 11(4), para. 1 · Checked

  • Consolidation Period: From June 2, 2026 to the

    header · Checked

Selling eggs in Ontario, Canada? →Licence, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: Licence: depends

Elsewhere in Canada

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Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Ontario, Canada?
Registration: not established. The finding covers: Ontario’s Provincial Premises Registry Initiative (PPRI), as described on the province’s program page read on 26 October 2026. Outside this finding's scope: The page describes the PPRI as voluntary. No other registration duty for poultry keepers was found in the sources read (that page); Minister’s Order 0005/2023 and the Animal Health Act regulations were not read, so this is not proof that none exists. Registration does not give permission to keep chickens at a particular property. Authority: Agricorp, an agency of OMAFRA, which delivers the PPRI on behalf of the ministry.
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Ontario, Canada?
The law we read gives a named local body its own powers over where hens can live. A single-tier municipality may pass by-laws respecting animals. A lower-tier or upper-tier municipality may pass by-laws in the sphere of animals, subject to the Act’s rules on which tier holds that power. Check with your municipal council for its by-laws on keeping chickens. No province-wide permission for or ban on backyard chickens was found in sections 10 and 11 of the Municipal Act, 2001. The City of Toronto Act, 2006, any provincial farm-practices or right-to-farm law, and local by-laws were not read. Look up the local rules where you live (the ordinances, bylaws or zoning of the body named here), or ask that office, before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Ontario, Canada?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. This page links the official status page to check today.

Allowed where you live? Then keep the records.

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