Prince Frederick, MD – The Calvert County Board of Appeals heard its third case this year regarding a special exception request to keep chickens as pets at a residential property. The request, submitted by Michelle and Wesley Auld of Huntingtown, was unanimously granted during the board’s July 6 meeting. The Aulds requested approval to keep a maximum of 10 laying hens as pets on their property that is less than three acres in size. The Aulds’ property is zoned Rural Community District.
Wesley Auld explained the hens would be kept in the home’s backyard, which is fenced in, and in an area that includes a chicken coop.
“We will only have eight to 10 hens—no roosters,” Michelle Auld stated in the application. “Hens will be educational to our children. They will also be used for our daughter’s involvement in 4-H. We will also donate eggs to local food pantries.”
The Aulds explained that while theirs is not farm property the home is in proximity to farm property. In addition to a fence there is open space and a wooded area separating the home from the adjacent farm property.
A picture of the hens’ proposed home was shown to board members. “What I see in the picture here looks like a dog house,” said Board Member John Ward.
“That’s the new-style chicken coop,” Board Member Susie Hance Wells replied.
No negative comments were received. In making the motion to approve, Ward stipulated that roosters would be prohibited, the family must properly manage the resultant chicken manure and the hens must not attract “predatory animals.”
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has declared that “backyard chickens can be wonderful pets. Interest in keeping them has grown as part of the local, sustainable and organic food movements. The HSUS supports measures that reduce animal suffering and every family that gets their eggs from backyard hens is likely reducing or eliminating their purchase of eggs laid by hens that were confined to crowded cages on factory farms. Chickens are energetic, inquisitive and friendly animals that are a joy to watch, but the decision to keep them should not be made lightly.”
In March the Board of Appeals approved a request by a Port Republic couple to keep six hens and two goats at their residence. In June the panel denied the request of an Owings family to keep 30 chickens at their property.
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com