SO YOU WANT TO OWN CHICKENS IN ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY?
A cold snap is in the air, and while baby chicks require a heat lamp to keep them alive (even in the summer), November is the perfect time of the year to start thinking about raising chickens.
In many parts of the country, particularly outside of population centers, owning chickens does not require much planning. Just build a coop to keep the chickens in and make sure it has a door to keep out the things that go bump in the night.
However, in Anne Arundel County Maryland, getting started with chickens could take a little more forethought, and even a registration and inspection, long before the birds ever lay their first egg.
On November 18th, 2013, the Anne Arundel County Council passed new laws that opened up the possibility of backyard chickens to many residents of the county, but it included some pretty heavy restrictions. Among the restrictions, for those living on less than an acre of land, are no roosters allowed and no more than eight hens may be kept. The coop must have a covered run, and, perhaps the most arduous of the new rules, coops must be inspected every three years, and a $30 license must be purchased in addition to the state registration.
For an Anne Arundel County coop to qualify to house chickens, it must
“... have four walls and a roof, be ventilated, [be] constructed to be raised two (2) feet from the ground, have a minimum of three (3) square feet per chicken, have secure door or gate closures, attached bottoms or anti-digging devices to prevent escape, and be built in such a manner to prevent access from predators and withstand weather.”
With a compliant coop built, registered, and inspected, it might seem logical to start selling some eggs. However, before that first box of egg cartons from Alibaba ships, there is another set of laws that are worth reading, and this time they are at the state level.
In Maryland, “[a]ll producer/packers of shell eggs must register with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) annually,” according to the Maryland Department of Agriculture. This registration opens up backyard producers to inspection via random testing by the department.
Additionally, to sell eggs, the cartons must be labeled, with specific information, the eggs must be sorted, and they must be held at 45° F or cooler. Selling at anything other than a farmer’s market, the seller must also provide an invoice, and maintain those records for one year.
To start chickens in Anne Arundel County this spring, or even during the summer, now is the time to start thinking about what needs to be done--long before the birds ever end up in the backyard.
For more information on raising backyard chickens in Anne Arundel County visit Carl’s Chickens.