Counting their chickens: Inside town’s ‘barn book’

Acton is replete with chickens, horses, and cows, but, according to the record book, nary a swine. 

The state requires annual livestock counts in each municipality to help authorities in case of animal infectious disease outbreaks. 

Acton officials recently reviewed their 2025 “barn book.”

The town has 95 official “barns,” but they’re not all necessarily on farms. Some household pets count toward the census. 

Chickens lead the way, with more than 1,300 throughout Acton. There are 163 cattle and 132 equines, such as horses or donkeys. The town’s animal inspector recorded 34 goats. The numbers trail off from there, with no listed pigs, llamas, or alpacas. 

Cattle and horses and goats — oh, my

The cattle count prompted questions and laughs at last month’s Board of Health meeting.

“Where are there 163 cows in town?” panel Chair Jim Whalen asked. 

There are, indeed, cattle on at least a few parcels. Verrill Farm has some, as does the state prison farm near the rotary, according to Public Health Director Melanie Dineen.

Although they’re “mostly beef cattle,” Dineen said Acton also has some dairy cows.

Beyond disease management, state authorities say, accurate livestock counts are helpful to determine “what resources may be necessary to respond to significant flooding or other natural disasters.”

Acton’s tally of just three rabbits seems “very low,” Whalen quipped. “I have about six on my lawn,” he said. 

Wild rabbits aren’t considered barn animals, Dineen said, and therefore fly (or hop) under the radar. 

— Dakota Antelman