Species · Poultry

Chicken

Gallus gallus domesticus

Domesticated from the red junglefowl of South-east Asia thousands of years ago, and now the most numerous bird on earth.

A few chooks in the backyard is the most Australian of pet projects, and most of what goes wrong is decided at the shop: a flat-pack coop a fox opens like a lunchbox, a bag of grain sold as a diet, and a single bird because the yard felt small. Chickens are intelligent, affectionate flock animals that hide illness the way prey animals do, and they reward being taken seriously. Build the fortress, buy vaccinated pullets in threes, feed a real ration — then enjoy the best-value companionship in pet keeping, with breakfast thrown in.

At a glance

Lifespan: 5–10 years; hybrid layers often fewer
Adult weight: 0.5–4.5 kg by breed
Eggs: 180–320 a year at peak, tapering with age
Minimum housing: Fox-proof coop plus a run — bigger than the flat-pack
Company: Three or more hens; never one
Noise level: Hens chatter and announce eggs; a rooster is a council question
Diet: Layer pellets plus greens and scraps — not grain alone
Predator-proofing: Foxes, dogs, hawks; build for the fox and the rest is covered
With children: Excellent, supervised; hand-washing is the rule

Breeds · 6 listed

Breeds run from bantam ornament to heavyweight layer, and the practical split is hybrid versus heritage: an ISA Brown lays furiously and burns out young, an Australorp lays less and lives longer. Choose the deal you mean to make.

Australorp
ISA Brown
Leghorn
Orpington
Silkie
Wyandotte

Right for you if

A genuinely fox-proof coop and run exist, or will exist before the birds do.
Three or more hens is the plan — a flock, not an ornament.
Someone will do lock-up every single night, holidays included.
You want pets with output: eggs, pest control, compost turning, comedy.

Wrong for you if

The coop budget stopped at the flat-pack with the plastic latches.
One quiet hen for a courtyard was the picture; a lone chicken is a sad one.
Nobody wants to deal with the end of a short-lived hybrid's lay, or her life.
You assumed a rooster is part of the deal — in most suburbs he is not.

Welfare and sourcing — read this part

Marek's disease is common in backyard flocks, cannot be treated, and is prevented by vaccination at hatch — doses given after the first week or two might not work at all.¹ Buy from a hatchery or breeder who vaccinates and will say so plainly; it cannot be fixed later.
Australian vets still see the diseases of grain-only feeding — obesity, liver disease, heart problems and bone disease — left over from the belief that grain is all a chicken needs.² A quality commercial ration is the diet; scraps and grain are the extras.
The hard-laying hen's bill arrives mid-life: egg binding is common in pullets brought into lay too early and in overweight hens, and can be life-threatening, while the hardest-laying breeds are the most prone to the brittle-boned collapse called layer fatigue.³ A hen straining, or suddenly off her legs, is a same-day vet visit.
Fatty scraps are not a treat: poultry fed mostly scratch and table scraps are predisposed to fatty liver, and the first sign can be sudden death from liver rupture.³
How many birds you may keep, and whether a rooster may be among them, is your council's decision, and councils differ.² Check before the chicks arrive, not after the neighbour complains.

Sources

Sato Y. Common Infectious Diseases in Backyard Poultry. MSD Veterinary Manual, professional edition. MSD Veterinary Manual 2025. Accessed 2026-09-07. International MSD Veterinary Manual Marek's disease is common in backyard chicken flocks and cannot be treated; it is prevented by vaccination at hatch, and vaccination might not be effective in birds more than one to two weeks old. Coccidiosis most often affects birds one to four months old and thrives in moist, heavily soiled litter. Red mites feed only at night and cause feather loss, irritation and anaemia; roundworms and tapeworms are the most common internal parasites, and yearly faecal examinations are recommended for all backyard flocks. Waterfowl are natural hosts of avian influenza and can shed the virus without showing signs of illness; backyard flocks kept outdoors are at particular risk.
Doneley B. How should I care for my backyard chickens? RSPCA Australia Knowledgebase. RSPCA Australia 2023. Accessed 2026-09-07. Australia RSPCA Australia Veterinarians still see chickens with nutritional diseases — obesity, liver disease, heart problems, bone disease — resulting from the long-standing but incorrect belief that grain is all a chicken needs. Chickens are flock animals and should not live a solitary life. Local council regulations may restrict the number and types of birds kept, including roosters, guinea fowl and peafowl. Medicine use in backyard chickens is regulated by the APVMA exactly as for commercial poultry, because chickens are counted as a food-producing species with no backyard exception.
Sato Y. Common Management-Related Problems in Backyard Poultry. MSD Veterinary Manual, professional edition. MSD Veterinary Manual 2025. Accessed 2026-09-07. International MSD Veterinary Manual Trauma is the most common problem affecting backyard poultry — predators, entrapment, crushing and pecking injuries. Poultry fed predominantly scratch and table scraps are predisposed to fatty liver, and death from it comes by liver rupture and haemorrhage. Cage layer fatigue (osteoporosis) is common in chickens, Coturnix quail and Khaki Campbell ducks, with high-production breeds more susceptible. Egg binding is common in pullets brought into lay too early and in obese hens, and can be life-threatening. Pheasants and quail are notorious for cannibalism.

Every source here was checked, not recalled. Where this page makes a health statement and no source appears against it, that is not an oversight we have hidden — it means the claim is not yet sourced, and the build reports how many are in that state.

Availability, registration and keeping requirements differ from place to place. Check the rules where you live before you commit to any animal — we describe animals, not law.