Buying Your First Chickens: What to Check Before You Start

Chickens are the most commonly kept backyard animal, and often the one people underestimate the longevity of — a well-kept pet hen lives far longer than a commercial laying hen ever gets the chance to.

Five to 10 years, not 18 months

The RSPCA is specific: chickens can live five to 10 years if allowed to live naturally. That's worth knowing because it's a genuinely different figure from how long a commercial laying hen is actually kept — on average, laying hens are kept until around 70 to 100 weeks old (18 months to two years), which is when egg quantity or quality starts to decline, at which point they're slaughtered and replaced. RSPCA, laying hens. A backyard pet hen kept for eggs rather than commercial production can genuinely live five times longer than that — plan for the long figure, not the commercial one.

Egg production slows well before a hen's natural lifespan ends

Because laying hens are commercially replaced once production drops, it's easy to assume a hen that's laying less is somehow failing — but a backyard hen naturally lays fewer eggs as she ages while still having years of healthy life ahead. Our cost guide already notes that feed cost stays roughly constant year-round even as laying drops in winter or with age — budget for a hen you'll keep well past her heaviest-laying years, not just while she's at peak production. See our egg-laying guide for the seven real reasons a hen might stop, most of them nothing to worry about.

At least three, from the start

The RSPCA highly recommends at least three hens that get on well together — see our companionship guide for why a pair genuinely isn't enough and how to introduce a new bird later if your flock grows. Buying three from the start, from the same source where possible, avoids the introduction process altogether.

Registration applies from your first hen

In England, since October 2024, all bird keepers must register their birds with the Great Britain Poultry Register, regardless of flock size — a genuinely different requirement from older guidance that only applied above a certain flock size, and one worth doing before your chickens arrive rather than after. See our legal guide for the fuller picture, including the roosters-specific rules many places have separately.

Before you buy: space, health and cost

Work out real coop and run space for three or more hens with our chicken coop calculator, read our health guide for what ongoing care actually involves, and use plan my setup to budget for the flock size you're actually planning — predator-proofing (see our dedicated guide) is the cost first-time keepers most often underestimate. Breed also matters more than most first-timers expect — see our breed size guide for real weight figures from bantam to giant.

Sources: RSPCA, “Laying Hens” and “Pet Chickens”: rspca.org.uk. Sources checked: September 2026. General information, not a substitute for advice from a breeder, hatchery or vet.

Common questions

How long do backyard chickens live?

The RSPCA says chickens can live five to 10 years if allowed to live naturally. That's a genuinely different figure from how long commercial laying hens are kept, which is much shorter.

Why do commercial laying hens only live a year or two?

The RSPCA says laying hens are usually kept until they're around 70 to 100 weeks old (18 months to two years), which is when egg quantity or quality starts to decline — at that point they're typically slaughtered and replaced, well short of their natural five-to-ten-year lifespan.

How many chickens should I start with?

The RSPCA highly recommends at least three hens that get on well together — chickens are social and need company, not just tolerate it, so a pair or a single hen isn't really a viable starting flock.

Do I need to register a small backyard flock?

In England, since October 2024, all bird keepers must register their birds with the Great Britain Poultry Register, regardless of flock size — a genuinely different requirement from before, and one that applies even to a handful of pet hens.