UMD Extension Hosting Poultry-Palooza Event on Oct. 20

The University of Maryland Extension is hosting “Poultry-Palooza” at the Center for Educational Partnership in Riverdale on October 20. Stop by to learn about local food production—see our visiting hens, get a tour of our community garden, and enjoy a screening of the film, “Mad City Chickens.” For more information including the schedule for the day, see our event flyer here.

The day will feature a visit by the University of Maryland Extension’s “Loan-a-Layer” program along with poultry expert, Dr. Dale Johnson. This is a new initiative in which a UME Educator brings a small pasture coop and several hens to schools or organization. Dr. Johnson will explain all aspects of layer production and answer questions, and participants can feed and water the chickens, collect eggs, and move the pen like they would if it was in their own back yard.

Keeping hens is not currently legal on residential property in Prince George’s County, however, there is a volunteer group called PG Hens that is trying to change this. In Baltimore and Annapolis and many other cities around the country, it is legal to have backyard chickens. For more info on PG Hens, visit their website at http://pghens.com/.

The Poulty-Palooza event is sponsored by the Southern Maryland Agriculture Development Commission (SMADC) and the American Community Gardening Association.