Charles Co. chickens

[Kinnakeet]

Does anyone else find the rules for keeping chickens in Charles County ridiculous? I have been interested in keeping them for awhile, but with the current situation I managed to convince my husband it would be nice to have egg laying hens. I never even considered it would be an issue since I live on 1.5 acres in agriculture zoning, but apparently charles county says 1 full grown chicken per 1/2 acre regardless of zoning (apparently if I had 2 acres I could keep 4 hens per acre). There are cities in Maryland that allow more than that on a postage stamp size lot! I am not looking to start a business or sell anything, just have enough hens to keep my family in eggs. Are there any movements I could join to help change this? I know I saw that the laws were changed in La Plata and if I am reading it correctly the laws for in the town of La Plata are the same for me in an agricultural zone!

Keep as many as you want the government cannot tell you how to feed your family.

 

[itsbob]

Just go get how ever many chickens you want (6 -12 is more than enough for most families).

Don't get ANY roosters, and your neighbors will never know, never have anything to bitch about.

There is a STATE law that says we have the right to farm, and the right to have chickens.. one chicken per halfacre is beyond retarded.

 

[itsbob]

Keep as many as you want the government cannot tell you how to feed your family.

Totally agree!!

 

[itsbob]

And ducks crap all over the place, worse than chickens.

We had both, and I loved having ducks, but we ended up getting rid of all of them.. BG got tired of pressure washing the driveway every week to stop us from tracking duck poop in the house. Duck Eggs are AMAZE-BALLS!!

 

[RoseRed]

We had both, and I loved having ducks, but we ended up getting rid of all of them.. BG got tired of pressure washing the driveway every week to stop us from tracking duck poop in the house. Duck Eggs are AMAZE-BALLS!!

Your neighbors down the street just got 4.

 

[itsbob]

Your neighbors down the street just got 4.

I'm still thinking of getting more chickens, but last time we got out of hand. I was hatching, and buying online, think at the height we had 36 chickens, and 12- 15 Peking and Khaki ducks.

The foxes loved me.. and the owls.. and the hawks..

 

[RoseRed]

I'm still thinking of getting more chickens, but last time we got out of hand. I was hatching, and buying online, think at the height we had 36 chickens, and 12- 15 Peking and Khaki ducks.

The foxes loved me.. and the owls.. and the hawks..

They also got 6 chicks...

 

[Scat]

Just go get how ever many chickens you want (6 -12 is more than enough for most families).

Don't get ANY roosters, and your neighbors will never know, never have anything to bitch about.

There is a STATE law that says we have the right to farm, and the right to have chickens.. one chicken per halfacre is beyond retarded.

Not really retarded. People keep calling the government and demanding they do something about the neighbors, so the Govt does something. People get what they ask for. People are too retarded to stop asking/complaining about their neighbors.

 

[KatieFloy]

Just go get how ever many chickens you want (6 -12 is more than enough for most families).

Don't get ANY roosters, and your neighbors will never know, never have anything to bitch about.

There is a STATE law that says we have the right to farm, and the right to have chickens.. one chicken per halfacre is beyond retarded.

Our plan was 6 so it's good to hear someone confirm that is an appropriate number for a family. Eggs are one of the few protein sources my son eats regularly, and the shortage freaked me out. I know that it's going to be awhile before these chicks start laying, but I like knowing I am doing something to diminish our future risk. I know from research that production goes down after a few years, so I figured we might need to add a couple down the road some to maintain production. No roosters. Unfertilized eggs mean that I don't have to listen to my 6 year old tell me we are murdering baby chicks.

 

[InfectedMushroom]

People are too retarded to stop asking/complaining about their neighbors.

It even happens to virtual strangers on an interwebz places!

 

[itsbob]

Our plan was 6 so it's good to hear someone confirm that is an appropriate number for a family. Eggs are one of the few protein sources my son eats regularly, and the shortage freaked me out. I know that it's going to be awhile before these chicks start laying, but I like knowing I am doing something to diminish our future risk. I know from research that production goes down after a few years, so I figured we might need to add a couple down the road some to maintain production. No roosters. Unfertilized eggs mean that I don't have to listen to my 6 year old tell me we are murdering baby chicks.

6 chickens, figure between 3 (normally) and up to 6 eggs a day.
search the classifies, there are always people out there giving away or selling laying chickens.

For kids see if you find Ameraucana or Araucana chickens, commonly referred to as Easter Egger.. Shells are all different colors. makes egg gathering a little more interesting.

 

[Goldenhawk]

...There is a STATE law that says we have the right to farm, and the right to have chickens.. one chicken per halfacre is beyond retarded.

Laws - Statute Text

§3–804.

(a) Except as provided by the Secretary, a person may not keep poultry unless the poultry is registered with the Secretary.

(b) A person who keeps poultry shall complete and submit to the Secretary a registration form on which the person shall include:

(1) The name of the poultry keeper;

(2) The location of the property on which the poultry is kept;

(3) The type of poultry; and

(4) Any other related information required by the Secretary.

(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the Secretary shall maintain a person’s registration record filed under subsection (b) of this section in a manner that protects the identity of the registrant.

(2) If the Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of Health, determines that the disclosure is necessary to protect the public health or prevent the spread of an infectious or contagious disease, the Secretary may disclose identifying information.

Raising Chickens | The Maryland People's Law Library

www.peoples-law.org

Counties and cities regulate the number of chickens that a person can raise on a specific piece of property. They may also regulate the size of the lot, the distance of the hen house or coop from neighbors and other conditions. For this reason, a person wishing to raise chickens must check the law in the county where he or she lives.

 

[itsbob]

Laws - Statute Text

Raising Chickens | The Maryland People's Law Library

www.peoples-law.org

NOPE.. none of their damn business.

They started that crap under the guise of the bird flu, bird flu is no longer a concern, but your dangerous birds have to be registered.

 

[kom526]

6 chickens, figure between 3 (normally) and up to 6 eggs a day.
search the classifies, there are always people out there giving away or selling laying chickens.

For kids see if you find Ameraucana or Araucana chickens, commonly referred to as Easter Egger.. Shells are all different colors. makes egg gathering a little more interesting.

craigslist always has tons, or hit up the farmers market in CH.

 

[mitzi]

For kids see if you find Ameraucana or Araucana chickens, commonly referred to as Easter Egger.. Shells are all different colors. makes egg gathering a little more interesting.

We had those too. First time we got a green egg, we were WTH? They are really friendly chickens too.

 

[RoseRed]

Brown eggs are the best for dying Easter eggs. For some reason, the colors turn out much better.

 

[KatieFloy]

Brown eggs are the best for dying Easter eggs. For some reason, the colors turn out much better.

really? we had to use brown this year due to what was available and ours were blotchy. maybe they had some kind if coating on them or something.

 

[RoseRed]

really? we had to use brown this year due to what was available and ours were blotchy. maybe they had some kind if coating on them or something.

Yup. Maybe you needed to leave them in the dye longer. They turn out a darker jewel color, rather than pastel when using white eggs.