If you plan to sell them they are considered livestock. If you just want them as pets or for meat or eggs then they are poultry. Chickens are poultry, which is a form of small livestock. Livestock usually means to sell, but can include animals that produce some type of food, whether it is milk, eggs, whatever. However, chances are, if your community doesn't allow livestock, it means no chickens, in addition to goats, cows, etc, etc.