(1/12) After adopting a backyard chicken ordinance in October, Thurmont is now accepting applications for residents with existing flocks and those who would like to starting raising backyard chickens to register their flocks.

The new ordinance, which went into effect Oct. 24, restricts residents to six chickens and bans roosters. Residents who owned more than six chickens or have roosters prior to the ordinance taking effect can register their flock to "age out" of the regulations.

Residents should register their chickens before March 1, when enforcement will go into effect. While there may be a grace period, Town Code Enforcement Officer Kristi Wood said "If [residents] don’t register and they have more than six chickens or they have a rooster, and I’m notified, they’re going to have to remove the chickens or rooster," Wood said. She explained later that registering roosters is especially important as that is "the only complaint [she] gets."

In order to get the forms to register new or existing backyard chickens, residents can contact Wood at 301-271-0905, extension 105 or by email at KWood@FrederickCountyMD.gov. Residents will still need to register with the State of Maryland, which Wood will include when sending the forms for Thurmont.

The new regulations require residents to be living in a single-family detached dwelling unit in order to own chickens. The ordinance would also require the residential lot to be at least 2,500 square feet.

Any chicken coops or runs must be a minimum of 10 feet from the property line. With a four-foot fence surrounding the backyard or the area of the backyard in which the chickens are kept, residents are not required to confine the chickens to their run. If the area is not enclosed by a fence at least four feet high, run itself must be four-feet high or covered. Without an enclosed area, residents are required to confine the chickens to the run.

The chicken coop must be predator-resistant and follow the same guidelines as the run. The coop must be as least four square feet but no more than ten square feet per chicken. It also may not be more than six feet high.

The ordinance does not apply to those raising chickens for agricultural purposes or own chickens for educational, commercial or industrial purposes. The regulations would cover resident backyard chickens for personal-use only, prohibiting slaughter or selling eggs or meat from the chickens. Residents are allowed and encouraged by the town to take advantage of the eggs themselves, in addition to the chickens’ companionship.

Thurmont now joins Woodsboro and Carroll Valley in officially allowing chickens within town limits. Walkersville and Taneytown are in the process of formalizing ordinances to allow residents in those towns to own chickens.