Can You Legally Raise Chickens For Eggs in Lawton, Oklahoma?

With the ever-increasing sky-high price of eggs these days, web searches about raising chickens inside Lawton city limits have peaked online... mainly, is it legal?

Get our free mobile app

As with any topic that involves municipal government, the answers aren't as clear and concise as they could be.

Can you own chickens inside the Lawton city limits? Yes... but it comes with a price.

Canva

If you'd like to have some chickens, you have to pay an increasingly regressive tax in the form of a license. On top of the license, the city also limits how many chickens you can have at twelve.

We're from the government, and we're here to help.

Anybody who has watched the Lawton water bill skyrocket, if there is a way for the local government to tax any given thing, they are going to collect those revenues. This includes having pets.

Dogs and cats have to be licensed and the price varies based on your pet's hardware. A neutered dog/cat license is a one-time $10 tax/fee, but that becomes an annual $50 tax/fee if they still have their kibbles and bits.

Even then, you're capped at having three pets under those specific licenses. If you want more, it's an additional $25 per animal because our politicians love money more than being patriotic Americans, and mall projects that run millions over budget don't pay for themselves.

If you want to have chickens in your backyard for fun, pets, or food, you'll have to pay the tax/fees for a license and agree to the terms of having such a license. Same for rabbits, ducks, and what they've termed "any poultry."

Nothing is ever free.

While the idea is simple enough, the reality isn't. If a neighbor has chickens, you might automatically assume they're living high on the hog getting all those free eggs, but nothing in life is free.

In order to start raising chickens, you'll need to provide shelter first and foremost - a chicken coop. With lumber quickly on the rise again, and pre-built models going for an ounce of gold, you're saving money at a deficit right out of the gate.

Canva

Add in the food and feed you'll need to give your butt-nugget providers, perhaps the electricity for a heat source during Oklahoma's brutal cold snaps, and the costs just keep rising.

Is raising chickens for eggs really worth it?

Are you going to save money on eggs by raising your own chickens in Lawton? Probably not... at least not for a while. You'll have to really get into eating your own backyard-farmed eggs before you see a return on that investment, but nothing is impossible, right?

Weird and Wild Pets You Can Have In Oklahoma

When it comes to the topic of exotic and wild animals in Oklahoma, there is a very short list of things you can't own as a pet... but there are ways around almost all the red tape in the Sooner State.

The Highest Rated Local 'Cheap Eats' Restaurants In Lawton

Sometimes you just cannot eat another bite of chain-restaurant food. There's a bit of comfort in the fact you can visit any location in the country and have the same meal, but it grows tired on the taste buds. Sometimes you just need something uniquely local and preferably within your budget.

While there are higher-rated restaurants in town, they come at a steep price. Paying $12 for a lime-washed beer or glass of wine crosses the border between eating a meal and paying extra for entertainment. Here are the highest-rated local cheap eats in Lawton according to Trip Advisor.

The Real Wild West Outlaws of Oklahoma

In the years before Oklahoma gained statehood, there was a major shift happening trying to convert the wilds of Indian Territory into a mild-mannered turn-of-the-century metropolitan place. It's amazing how many of America's famed outlaws made headlines in our state.

Categories: Food, Government, Lawton News