Keeping hens · State rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Maryland?

Maryland keepers must register poultry with MDA. Its 2010 form exempts five or fewer birds housed under 120 days in 12 months, with no other poultry, never moved, shown or sold; whether MDA still applies it is unclear.

Read from 16 official sources46 passages quotedChecked October 24, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Registration required

Where hens can live

Set locally

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Rule with conditions
Set locally

Who decides where hens can live

The state law we read gives a named local body its own powers over where hens can live. What the checked sources say:

  • Maryland’s policy is that planning and zoning controls are implemented by local government. To promote health, safety and general welfare, a local legislative body, such as a board of county commissioners, a county council or the governing body of a municipal corporation, may regulate the location and use of buildings, signs, structures and land.

No statewide permission or prohibition on keeping chickens is established by this finding. Your county's or municipality's legislative body may regulate land use, so check with it. This page names the state law, not local zoning laws; which counties and municipalities this part of the Land Use Article reaches was not established. HOA, rooster and setback rules aren't covered here.

The law's own words are quoted under state rules on keeping poultry below.

How to check: Look up the local rules where you live (the ordinances, bylaws or zoning of the body named here), or ask that office, before you get hens.

A sourced reading of Maryland's state law, not legal advice. Local ordinances and zoning, HOA rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local code before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the national or state scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Rule identified for the scope below

Jurisdiction: Maryland

Applies to: Anyone who keeps poultry, meaning any living domesticated bird, in Maryland, under Agriculture Article § 3-804, as checked on 24 October 2026.

Outside this finding's scope

  • The Secretary of Agriculture may provide exceptions; the exemption stated on MDA’s registration form is listed below. Registration is not permission to keep poultry at a property.

What the checked sources say

  • Except as the Secretary of Agriculture provides, a person may not keep poultry in Maryland unless it is registered with the Secretary. The registration form must give the keeper’s name, the location of the property where the poultry is kept, the type of poultry and any other related information the Secretary requires.
  • As checked on 24 October 2026, the Maryland Department of Agriculture's (MDA's) Backyard Flock Registration page said backyard flock owners are required to register their flocks with MDA and that a Maryland Poultry Premises Registration Form can be mailed to 50 Harry S. Truman Parkway, Annapolis MD 21401, or faxed to the MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5999. A registration form MDA's website served the same day (MDA E-14, revised 2/10) gives 410-841-5810 and animalhealth.mda@maryland.gov for questions.
  • The Secretary keeps registration records in a way that protects the registrant’s identity, but may disclose identifying information, after consulting the Secretary of Health, if that is necessary to protect public health or prevent the spread of an infectious or contagious disease.

Thresholds

  • Agriculture Article § 3-804 states no minimum flock size. The registration form MDA's website served on 24 October 2026 (MDA E-14, revised 2/10) says all individuals keeping or caring for all types of poultry and any number of birds need to register, subject to the exemption below.

Exemptions and their limits

  • The registration form MDA's website served on 24 October 2026 (MDA E-14, revised 2/10) says registration is not required if five or fewer birds are housed for less than 120 days in a 12-month period, with no other poultry on the property and the birds not moved from the premises, shown or sold. No MDA page captured that day restates this exemption, and the captures do not show that MDA's current registration page links this form, so whether MDA still applies the 2010 exemption was not established.

Authority: Maryland Department of Agriculture (Secretary of Agriculture), Animal Health Program

Fee: Not established from the sources checked.

The official wording

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

Check the official current-status page

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-10-24

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Conditions apply to this finding

Uses housing orders in this scope: Yes, according to the checked evidence, within the limits listed under “Outside this finding’s scope” below.

Jurisdiction: Maryland

Applies to: Quarantine, isolation and order powers of Maryland’s Secretary of Agriculture over contagious or infectious animal diseases, under Agriculture Article §§ 3-101 and 3-105.

Outside this finding's scope

  • These powers do not in terms require birds to be kept indoors, and this finding does not establish that any quarantine, isolation or housing order applies now. The sections read do not define “animal” or “domestic animal”; the same title refers to epidemics of disease among livestock or poultry.

What the checked sources say

  • The Secretary must protect the health of Maryland’s domestic animals from contagious or infectious diseases, and for this purpose may adopt and enforce quarantine, sanitary or other rules and regulations. The Secretary may also establish, maintain and enforce a quarantine order when that is urgent and necessary.
  • To prevent spread, the Secretary or an agent may order every animal exposed to a contagious or infectious disease to be isolated as needed, order a location where such a disease exists or has existed to be quarantined so that no domestic animal of the same species may be removed from or brought to it until it is properly disinfected, and issue any other order deemed necessary or expedient to stop the disease spreading from the quarantined area. The Secretary may modify, cancel or withdraw these orders.
  • As checked on 24 October 2026, MDA’s avian influenza page asked people to report unusual bird deaths or sudden increases in very sick birds to the MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5810 (after hours 410-841-5971), and also to contact USDA at 866-536-7593.
  • Current mandatory housing status remains unconfirmed.
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

  • The Secretary shall protect the health of the domestic animals of the State from all contagious or infectious diseases. For this purpose, the Secretary may: (1) Adopt and enforce quarantine, sanitary, or other rules and regulations he deems necessary;

    Agric. Art. s. 3-101(a)(1) · Checked

  • The Secretary may establish, maintain, and enforce a quarantine order if he determines it is urgent and necessary for the prompt performance of the provisions provided in this section.

    Agric. Art. s. 3-101(b) · Checked

  • To prevent the spread of contagious or infectious diseases, the Secretary, or his agent, may:

    Agric. Art. s. 3-105(a), opening · Checked

  • Order every animal which has been exposed to a contagious or infectious disease to be isolated in the manner he deems necessary to prevent the spread of the disease;

    Agric. Art. s. 3-105(a)(3) · Checked

  • Order any location where any contagious or infectious disease has existed or presently exists to be quarantined, so that no domestic animal of the same species may be removed from or brought to the quarantined premises until it is properly disinfected;

    Agric. Art. s. 3-105(a)(4) · Checked

  • Issue any order he deems necessary or expedient to prevent the communication of any infectious or contagious disease from the quarantined area;

    Agric. Art. s. 3-105(a)(5) · Checked

  • Modify, cancel, or withdraw the terms of any order the Secretary issues pursuant to this subtitle; and

    Agric. Art. s. 3-105(a)(9) · Checked

  • In the event of an epidemic of contagious or infectious disease among livestock or poultry in the State, the Secretary may appoint the assistants necessary to suppress promptly the epidemic.

    Agric. Art. s. 3-103(b), first sentence · Checked

  • Report any unusual bird deaths or sudden increases in very sick birds to the MDA Animal Health Program at 410-841-5810 or after-hours to 410-841-5971. Also contact the USDA at 866-536-7593.

    MDA Avian Influenza in Poultry Flocks page, biosecurity list, reporting item · Checked

Small-flock welfare minimums

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Maryland

Applies to: Anyone dealing with an animal, which Maryland’s cruelty statute defines as a living creature except a human being, under Criminal Law §§ 10-601, 10-603 and 10-604 (the sections read).

Outside this finding's scope

  • These sections do not apply to customary and normal veterinary and agricultural husbandry practices, including dehorning, castration, tail docking and limit feeding; to research under protocols approved by an animal care and use committee as the federal Animal Welfare Act or Health Research Extension Act requires; to an activity that may cause unavoidable physical pain if the most humane method reasonably available is used, including food processing, pest elimination, animal training, and hunting or fishing done in accordance with Title 4 or Title 10 of the Natural Resources Article or their regulations; or to normal human activities in which pain is purely incidental and unavoidable.
  • This finding is not a complete welfare code and sets no numerical space standard or property permission.

What the checked sources say

  • A person may not deprive an animal of necessary sustenance or inflict unnecessary suffering or pain on it. Anyone who has charge or custody of an animal, as owner or otherwise, may not unnecessarily fail to provide it with nutritious food in sufficient quantity, necessary veterinary care, proper drink, proper air, proper space, proper shelter, or proper protection from the weather.
  • A violation is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to 90 days, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

The official wording

  • “Animal” means a living creature except a human being.

    Crim. Law s. 10-601(b) · Checked

  • A person may not: (1) overdrive or overload an animal; (2) deprive an animal of necessary sustenance; (3) inflict unnecessary suffering or pain on an animal;

    Crim. Law s. 10-604(a)(1)-(3) · Checked

  • (5) if the person has charge or custody of an animal, as owner or otherwise, unnecessarily fail to provide the animal with: (i) nutritious food in sufficient quantity; (ii) necessary veterinary care; (iii) proper drink; (iv) proper air; (v) proper space; (vi) proper shelter; or (vii) proper protection from the weather.

    Crim. Law s. 10-604(a)(5) · Checked

  • A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 90 days or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.

    Crim. Law s. 10-604(b)(1) · Checked

  • Sections 10–601 through 10–608 and 10–626 of this subtitle do not apply to: (1) customary and normal veterinary and agricultural husbandry practices including dehorning, castration, tail docking, and limit feeding;

    Crim. Law s. 10-603(1) · Checked

  • (2) research conducted in accordance with protocols approved by an animal care and use committee, as required under the federal Animal Welfare Act or the federal Health Research Extension Act;

    Crim. Law s. 10-603(2) · Checked

  • (3) an activity that may cause unavoidable physical pain to an animal if the person performing the activity uses the most humane method reasonably available, including: (i) food processing; (ii) pest elimination; (iii) animal training; and

    Crim. Law s. 10-603(3)(i)-(iii) · Checked

  • (iv) any hunting or fishing activity completed in accordance with Title 4 or Title 10 of the Natural Resources Article or any regulations adopted under those titles; or

    Crim. Law s. 10-603(3)(iv) · Checked

  • (4) normal human activities in which the infliction of pain to an animal is purely incidental and unavoidable.

    Crim. Law s. 10-603(4) · Checked

National or state rules on keeping poultry

Conditions apply to this finding

Jurisdiction: Maryland

Applies to: Maryland’s policy that local government implements planning and zoning, the zoning power of local legislative bodies, and the nuisance protection for agricultural operations.

Outside this finding's scope

  • No statewide permission or prohibition on keeping chickens is established by this finding. Your county's or municipality's legislative body may regulate land use, so check with it. This page names the state law, not local zoning laws; which counties and municipalities this part of the Land Use Article reaches was not established. HOA, rooster and setback rules aren't covered here.
  • The nuisance protection covers agricultural operations, meaning on-farm production, harvesting or marketing of products grown, raised or cultivated by the farmer (or processing of agricultural crops); whether a backyard flock qualifies was not established. It does not stop any government enforcing health, environmental, zoning or other applicable law, and does not apply to an agricultural operation without a fully and demonstrably implemented nutrient management plan where one is otherwise required by law.

What the checked sources say

  • Maryland’s policy is that planning and zoning controls are implemented by local government. To promote health, safety and general welfare, a local legislative body, such as a board of county commissioners, a county council or the governing body of a municipal corporation, may regulate the location and use of buildings, signs, structures and land.
  • An agricultural operation that has been under way for 1 year or more, complies with applicable federal, State and local health, environmental, zoning and permit requirements relating to any nuisance claim, and is not conducted negligently may not be deemed a public or private nuisance, and a private action may not be sustained on the grounds that it interferes with the use or enjoyment of other property.

The official wording

  • (2) planning and zoning controls shall be implemented by local government.

    Land Use Art. s. 4-101(a)(2) · Checked

  • To promote the health, safety, and general welfare of the community, a legislative body may regulate:

    Land Use Art. s. 4-102, opening · Checked

  • (6) the location and use of buildings, signs, structures, and land.

    Land Use Art. s. 4-102(6) · Checked

  • “Legislative body” means the elected body of a local jurisdiction. (2) “Legislative body” includes: (i) the board of county commissioners; (ii) the county council; and (iii) the governing body of a municipal corporation.

    Land Use Art. s. 1-101(g) · Checked

  • “Local jurisdiction” means a county or municipal corporation and the territory within which its powers may be exercised.

    Land Use Art. s. 1-101(i) · Checked

  • In this division the following words have the meanings indicated.

    Land Use Art. s. 1-101(a) · Checked

  • “Agricultural operation” means an operation for the processing of agricultural crops or on–farm production, harvesting, or marketing of any agricultural, horticultural, silvicultural, aquacultural, or apicultural product that has been grown, raised, or cultivated by the farmer.

    Cts. & Jud. Proc. s. 5-403(a)(2) · Checked

  • If an agricultural, a silvicultural, or a commercial fishing or seafood operation has been under way for a period of 1 year or more and if the operation is in compliance with applicable federal, State, and local health, environmental, zoning, and permit requirements relating to any nuisance claim and is not conducted in a negligent manner:

    Cts. & Jud. Proc. s. 5-403(c), opening · Checked

  • (1) The operation, including any sight, noise, odors, dust, or insects resulting from the operation, may not be deemed to be a public or private nuisance; and

    Cts. & Jud. Proc. s. 5-403(c)(1) · Checked

  • (i) Prohibit a federal, State, or local government from enforcing health, environmental, zoning, or any other applicable law;

    Cts. & Jud. Proc. s. 5-403(b)(1)(i) · Checked

  • (i) Any agricultural operation that is operating without a fully and demonstrably implemented nutrient management plan for nitrogen and phosphorus if otherwise required by law; or

    Cts. & Jud. Proc. s. 5-403(b)(2)(i) · Checked

  • (2) A private action may not be sustained on the grounds that the operation interferes or has interfered with the use or enjoyment of other property, whether public or private.

    Cts. & Jud. Proc. s. 5-403(c)(2) · Checked

Bird flu right now? PoultryPal's bird-flu tracker for Maryland has the latest we've checked.

Selling eggs in Maryland? →License, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: Registration

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Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Maryland?
Registration: required. The finding covers: Anyone who keeps poultry, meaning any living domesticated bird, in Maryland, under Agriculture Article § 3-804, as checked on 24 October 2026. Agriculture Article § 3-804 states no minimum flock size. The registration form MDA's website served on 24 October 2026 (MDA E-14, revised 2/10) says all individuals keeping or caring for all types of poultry and any number of birds need to register, subject to the exemption below. Outside this finding's scope: The Secretary of Agriculture may provide exceptions; the exemption stated on MDA’s registration form is listed below. Registration is not permission to keep poultry at a property. Exemptions and their limits: The registration form MDA's website served on 24 October 2026 (MDA E-14, revised 2/10) says registration is not required if five or fewer birds are housed for less than 120 days in a 12-month period, with no other poultry on the property and the birds not moved from the premises, shown or sold. No MDA page captured that day restates this exemption, and the captures do not show that MDA's current registration page links this form, so whether MDA still applies the 2010 exemption was not established. Authority: Maryland Department of Agriculture (Secretary of Agriculture), Animal Health Program.
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Maryland?
The state law we read gives a named local body its own powers over where hens can live. Maryland’s policy is that planning and zoning controls are implemented by local government. To promote health, safety and general welfare, a local legislative body, such as a board of county commissioners, a county council or the governing body of a municipal corporation, may regulate the location and use of buildings, signs, structures and land. No statewide permission or prohibition on keeping chickens is established by this finding. Your county's or municipality's legislative body may regulate land use, so check with it. This page names the state law, not local zoning laws; which counties and municipalities this part of the Land Use Article reaches was not established. HOA, rooster and setback rules aren't covered here. Look up the local rules where you live (the ordinances, bylaws or zoning of the body named here), or ask that office, before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Maryland?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. This page links the official status page to check today. PoultryPal's bird-flu tracker page for Maryland has the latest we've checked.

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