Post Falls allows ducks and more chickens as egg prices rise

Post Falls backyard flocks just got a bigger legal runway as city leaders opened the door to ducks and more chickens at the same time egg prices have kept households looking for ways to stretch groceries. The change gives single-family detached lots more headroom for homegrown food, but it still leaves owners working within setbacks, sanitation rules and the realities of coop space.

The Post Falls City Council unanimously approved the code amendments on Tuesday, June 3, 2026. Under the new rule, a single-family detached lot may keep up to 12 fowl total, with no more than six ducks. Mayor Randy Westlund jokingly called it the "making ducks great again" ordinance, while Councilor Marc Lucca quipped about having ducks in a row.

The new language matters because it turns ducks from a near-livestock category into a backyard option alongside chickens. City staff said the push came from a resident who wanted ducks treated like chickens instead of livestock. Associate planner Justin Sauder told council that chickens or ducks are allowed on single-family detached lots regardless of lot size, so long as setback rules are met. When Councilor Nathan Ziegler asked about enclosure space, Sauder said ducks may need more room if they do not have a run because they do not roost.

That is a major shift from the city’s earlier code. In December 2025, Post Falls allowed chickens on detached single-family lots with up to 10 hens, while ducks were still classified as livestock and generally needed about an acre of land. The issue had already surfaced earlier that fall, when Sarah Ericson asked planners on Sept. 9 to change the ordinance. She told officials ducks take about 10 to 15 square feet per bird outdoors, are quiet, and can help with pest control by eating slugs, mosquitoes and other bugs. At the time, she proposed a limit of two to five ducks per household.

For backyard keepers, the practical takeaway is simple: Post Falls now has enough legal room for a more serious egg-and-fertilizer flock, but not enough to ignore the yard itself. The city still requires space for setbacks and keeps nuisance and sanitation limits in place, which means the difference between a productive flock and a problem flock will still come down to planning, drainage, shelter and how much room the birds can actually use.

The policy also fits a broader North Idaho pattern. Hayden approved ducks in city limits in 2020, treating them similarly to chickens with one duck per 2,000 square feet and up to 10 ducks per lot in residential and residential-suburban zones. In Coeur d’Alene, residents have recently run into duck restrictions of their own. In Post Falls, the legal headroom has changed, and for households trying to produce more of their own food, that may be the most useful part of the story.