I moved to Kent County 16 years ago and immediately fell in love with our rural community. Two years ago, to supplement my vegetable garden and take the next step toward household sustainability, I bought 5 hens. By doing so, I became one of the many illegal chicken owners in Kent County. According to our Planning and Zoning Office one is only allowed to keep small animals “on farms (parcels 20 acres or more)” in 3 of Kent’s 17 zoning districts. Yes, you read that right. Unless you live on a farm of at least 20 acres in certain areas, it is illegal in Kent County to keep a few hens or rabbits in your backyard. There’s an epidemic of chicken crime in Kent County!
In December 2013 I got a visit from the Zoning Enforcement Officer. Someone had alerted the Zoning Office to the fact that I had chickens. The officer also told me he didn’t see any chickens and I hoped that that would be the end of it. Unfortunately, once the wheels of enforcement have started to move, there is no stopping them. I got a 2nd visit towards the end of January. Ironically, at that point the hens were actually in my garage and not visible to the outside world at all. They were there for most of January on account of our frigid weather. On February 22nd, I received the official notice that the hens better be gone by February 28th or I would have to appear in court.
I will admit, I made one stupid mistake. At first I didn’t put up a fence in my backyard. My girls did, on occasion, forage in my front yard and a few times they even crossed the road. I, myself, was bothered by the fact that they had become so adventurous. When the Zoning Officer paid his first visit, I put up a fence that very same day. So why did I not put up a fence earlier? It wasn’t because I wasn’t willing to do so, I was just busy with work, volunteering, harvesting, canning and no one had ever complained to me. We have all been there.
When a person commits a real criminal offence, this person is often given a second change in the form of a suspended sentence, probation, stet docket, you name it. Not so when it comes to a violation of our Zoning Ordinance. My hens, who keep me company when I am out gardening, who have brought a lot of joy to my family and quite a few neighbors, will have to go.
If I lived in Baltimore City, Annapolis or Bethesda, and expressed a desire to keep some hens in my backyard, I could imagine that my neighbors would suggest that, perhaps, it was time for me to move to a rural place such as Kent County. Turns out, if I want to keep chickens I’d be better off moving from the most rural county in Maryland to one of those cities for all of them allow citizens to keep hens in their own backyards.
As for my girls? They are currently residing at another illegal hen house in Kent County.
Sabine Harvey
Proud Illegal Chicken Mama
Chestertown