Now, county zoning inspectors said the Kobus' flock violates a new county law that bans livestock on lots smaller than 40,000 square feet.

The Roland Terrace couple will appear before Administrative Hearing Officer Stephen LeGendre this month, asking for permission to keep the hens. They now have five of the birds living behind their home.

"Is it going to be sad for us if we have to get rid of them? Absolutely," said Mrs. Kobus, whose family also has several dogs, cats and a rabbit. "People get pets for a reason."

Tracie Reynolds, spokesman for the Office of Planning and Zoning, said this is the first case of its kind to come before the county since the law took effect in January.

Inspectors from the county's Planning and Zoning office also informed the Kobuses last month the wooden coop, which is about 2 feet wide, must be set back 50 feet from their property line. Mrs. Kobus said she and her husband were never told about the setback requirement, though it's not a new law.

"Otherwise, we never would have gotten them," Mrs. Kobus said.

Her home sits on a 50-foot, 6,900-square-foot lot in the neighborhood.

Walking through the Kobuses' backyard, it's hard to see the hens or hear them. They don't crow like roosters do, and there's no smell coming from the garden.

David Bastien, president of the Arundel Neighborhoods Association, said he'd never heard of complaints from association members about livestock in the area, though he knew some residents had hens and other farm animals.

The Kobuses originally asked the county for permission to keep the hens because they had them long before the law was passed. County inspectors told them they couldn't grant them a certificate of nonconforming use - grandfathering the hens - but said the couple could apply for a variance.

Planning and Zoning officials got involved after someone, likely a neighbor, sent an anonymous letter to the county. The family said they still don't know who it was. The letter claimed the hens brought rats to the area, which the Kobuses deny.

"(The hens) don't bother anybody," said neighbor Christina Bittner, who lives about a block from the Kobuses. "Until I got a dog, I didn't even know they were there. He likes to sit there and look at them."

The Kobuses said they know of other residents who have livestock, including goats.

Cory Stephens, owner of the Anne Arundel County Farmers Cooperative in Glen Burnie, said he sells about 4,000 ducks, chicks, turkeys and geese every spring to local families.

"We sell them in pairs because they're used to being raised together," Mr. Stephens said. "They're a great learning experience for kids."

He said most locals who own livestock as pets probably don't know about the law, and what happens "depends on how well you get along with your neighbors."

Mrs. Kobus said she and her husband will have to prove that getting rid of the hens will be an undue hardship. That could be tough, she admitted, though the family does eat the eggs the hens lay. She also uses them in baking.

"The setback requirement is going to be the biggest problem," Mrs. Kobus said.

But she pointed out that her property borders an alley, not someone else's home, so that may work in their favor.

"They grew up with us," the Kobuses' 14-year-old daughter, Mattie, said of the hens. "They've been here for so long."