Most people keep backyard chickens for fresh eggs.They keep a small or a big flock of chickens, entirely of hens. Although the chicken might live in a cage or a chicken coop in confinement, it is a lot better than the chickens in the wild.Chickens and hens were not always kept as pets. Did you know that chickens were first used as a race animal before these birds were used as a means of meeting our hunger?Chickens are known to be emotional and intelligent animals and are considered on par with mammals thinking ability. Chickens love spending time outdoors getting fresh air, eating insects, or taking baths in the mud. A chicken is known to be a gentle and intelligent bird. A lifespan of a chicken may vary widely. The factors determining how long a chicken will live to depend on many reasons. Let us find out more about how long do chickens live as pets, factors that play a role in a chicken’s life expectancy, and many more.Keep reading to find out how long do chickens live and lay eggs, afterward do check are chickens mammals and how are chicken eggs fertilized?How long do chickens live as pets?A chicken is an egg-laying bird. It can be a brown feathered, black, white, and even gray bird with a red comb. Chickens can live both in the wild and as backyard chickens. There are hundreds of different breeds of chickens. Because of such diversity, it is difficult to determine the chicken’s life span.However, the breed of wild chickens has a lifespan of 3-7 years or more. Even though the risk of predators in the wild is high, this lifespan is known to be longer among the other wild breeds of chickens.A chicken’s lifespan is unique to the breed. An average lifespan of a chicken can be 5-10 years. One of the most important factors to determine an average lifespan of a chicken is breed category.When we keep chickens as a pet, we want them to stay healthy and live as long as possible. As a pet, the lifespan of a chicken increases. Humans tend to protect these chickens from the dangers of predators that may attack the flock or chickens. Humans can ensure proper housing for the chickens, also contributing to extending their lifespan.Hens as wild birds have a short lifespan. The maximum lifespan of the hen can be between 2-4 years. Whereas, hens as backyard chickens have a longer lifespan. The lifespan of these hens may range between 3- 10 years. Many factors are impacting the lifespan of hens and chickens and with the help of this article, you will be able to learn more about the shortest and the longest chicken lifespan, factors contributing to a chicken’s lifespan, and the world’s oldest chicken!Do chickens die of old age?How long do chickens live? Some breeds of chickens have a lifespan of three years even up to seven years. Although the environmental, genetic, and dietary conditions contribute to the life expectancy of a chicken, chickens don’t have to die of old age, specifically. Let’s see why.In cases where egg-laying chickens are not used for production purposes (wait to read about the world’s oldest chicken and understand how it affects their lifespan), these birds can die due to age-related health issues. Like respiratory diseases, heart diseases, etc.But nowadays, since egg-laying chickens live in large-scale factories, their lifespan is decreased abnormally. Chickens are an egg layer and produce meat, we know that. But using them to increase production can lead to a shorter lifespan. Chickens who are raised for meat production are killed, shortening their life span. These birds are forced to breed and lay eggs every day, which causes a shorter lifespan for the chicken.Old age is one natural reason why chickens can die, but there is an ample number of reasons that humans enforced, which have become predominant in shortening the life span of a chicken. Some chickens do not even get to wait a few months or even a year at most, and these chickens live 8 weeks or fewer weeks.Which chicken breeds have the shortest life span?Chickens are amazing pets. These birds are emotionally and intellectually great pets like dogs and cats. But we humans have suppressed the very nature of these chickens to meet our needs.To increase egg production, we suppress their wild behaviors like roaming outdoors to keep them caged in factory farms with terrible environmental conditions. In the later part of the article, we will study more about the common causes of death in poultry, factors that contribute to shortening or increasing a lifespan, different types of breeds. In this part, we will read about some of the chicken breeds that have shorter lifespans and some characteristics that will help us in the latter part to understand the concepts better.You might be wondering, why do some breeds not live as long as others? It is simply because these breeds are used for laying purposes and to meet the increasing demand for meat and eggs. Some meat-producing chickens have a lifespan of about six months or less. That is if these birds are not slaughtered.Breeds that lay a high number of eggs, do not have a long lifespan.The golden comet: This breed of chicken is used to produce a huge amount of eggs. Golden comet is known to be best at laying eggs, which leads to them having a shorter lifespan. They develop tumors and reproductive issues and various other health issues. Their lifespan is about 4-5 years at max.Cornish cross: Cornish cross is raised as a meat-producing breed. They are huge in size. Their lifespan is about a year or so. Because of their size, they die from heart problems like heart failure.ISA brown: This breed of chicken is very famous. They were bred to produce a ton of eggs, which results in a short lifespan. As a backyard chicken, with proper conditions, these chickens can live up to 4-5 years, but in commercial settings, they typically live till two years to three years of age.Average Chicken Lifespan By BreedChickens and hens had ancestors like wild birds, which is why their life expectancy shortened back then to 2-4 years old age due to predators or hunger. As chickens became our food source, the production of meat increased.As there are hundreds of breeds of chickens, they can be classified into two categories, heritage breeds, and hybrid breeds. You might get confused between what heritage breeds and hybrid breeds are. Simply put, heritage breeds are raised naturally, and hybrid breeds are chosen to breed productively.Heritage breeds: Heritage hens are raised naturally and bred with their breed. These heritage hens tend to have a longer lifespan and are expected to live up to eight years. Heritage hens tend to lay naturally, and the laying period can be between 2-3 years.As their genetics are not ‘hybridized’ much, they have a longer lifespan.For example, the Rhode Island red chicken is known as a heritage breed. The lifespan is about eight years. They are known for being great backyard chickens. Rhode Island red chicken is known to have one of the longest life spans of a chicken breed after Plymouth Rock, 10-12 years, and Bantam chicken breeds, 10+ years. These heritage breeds are a great egg layer.The American Poultry Association defines a chicken to be heritage when it can mate naturally, which has a slow growth rate, has a longer and more outdoor living and that comes from pure stock.Hybrid breeds: Hybrid breeds of chicken are, as the name suggests, manipulated by humans to be a productive layer.In 1940, the hybrid breed was mainly created to maximize egg production of hens and laying purposes. Because of such genetic manipulations by humans, hybrid breeds of hens have a shorter lifespan of about 18 months to two years at the most. For example, the Cornish cross, which is a hybrid breed, is known to have the shortest lifespan of about one year. Golden comet, which is also a hybrid breed and is known as a great layer, tend to live 2-3 years at the most if not butchered.What factors play a role in a chicken’s lifespan?Many reasons affect the lifespan of chickens. One of the factors we know is the type of breed, which we have read earlier. Various other factors affect the life expectancy of a chicken.Gender: In the egg production industry, the lifespan of male and female chicks is different. It mostly depends on the egg-laying factor. As male chicks do not lay eggs, do not reproduce, these male chicks, after hours of hatching, are grounded alive. They sometimes gas the chicks to death. Some suffocate these male chicks in huge plastic bags and leave them to die. For male chicks, their life is gruesome and over as soon as they hatch. Their lifespan is extremely short in egg factories.Housing: In earlier times, chickens would have to share the barn with another farm animal. Chicken housing became better as time went on. They used to freeze, get killed by predators, etc. Now the coops are built for different weather conditions. Cool in summers, warm in winters.Humans provide proper housing to the chickens, and such housing has also lengthened the lifespan of chickens.On the other hand, hens in warehouse coops are prone to various respiratory diseases because of the dust and small quarters. To keep respiratory diseases away, fresh air is important.Diet: There has been progress in the areas of diet for chickens. Chickens used to survive on mere grains, but now we have a specially manufactured poultry diet for every stage of a chicken’s life.Some hens have overweight and owners tend to give them a lot of treats and the chickens have various respiratory diseases, heart diseases, leg and back problems. Nutrition from commercially manufactured feed helps the chickens sustain better health and increase their lifespan.Genetic manipulations: The need to maximize egg production and manipulations of breeds can lead to a shorter life expectancy and can hurt the long-term survival of chickens.Sometimes, the interbreeding of chicken is detrimental to the whole species’ lifespan altogether. The birds have a small genetic structure and excessive manipulations can lead to shorter lifespans.Veterinary care: Proper administration of veterinary care is important to any farm animal. But as chicken production has increased, veterinary care has declined. The number of animals has increased, and proper care is not available and as the treatment is not given, chickens tend to die in the cage. Owners can take care of minute health problems at home, but if the illness needs extensive care, veterinary care is required.Diseases: Minor issues like parasites, lice, etc., can reduce the overall lifespan of chickens. These parasites may seem small but can drain the energy of the chickens.It is important to clean the coops regularly and feed a healthy diet to the chickens, which will reduce issues of the chickens. As chickens live in confined places, they are more prone to have communicable diseases, like the avian influenza outbreak that killed 90% of commercial farm chickens.Breeds: The type of breed determines the lifespan of chickens too. As hybrid or broiler chickens are chosen to lay and breed faster, this rapid production can cause the chickens to die at an early age or even before getting slaughtered. The demand to increase production in hens to lay eggs, at least one per day, which is abnormal for a heritage hen, leads to painful conditions. The reasons for which chickens have been raised also affect their lifespan.Did you know that, in the U.S. alone, there are billions of chickens die every year? Due to the increasing demand for meat and eggs, these hens and chickens are kept on factory farms with deteriorating conditions and slaughtered for eggs and meat.Most Common Causes Of Premature Chicken DeathEarlier in time, there was not much known about chickens. There was very little information about what caused death in these chickens or hens. Before, the backyard flock movement, little to no information was available. Chickens have become food for us. But recently several studies have been done to find out some natural common diseases that a chicken might die from.The diseases were categorized into four categories by veterinarian researchers. These diseases are infectious diseases, non-infectious diseases, neoplasms (neoplastic), or undetermined diseases.Infectious diseases: These diseases are subdivided into bacterial, viral, parasites, or fungal diseases. Bacterial disease is the most common cause out of all diseases after neoplasms. They are caused by mainly environmental and dirty surroundings of the chicken.Non-infectious diseases: These types of diseases are categorized into toxic, nutrition, and traumatic causes by either predators or humans in the egg production industry.Neoplasms/neoplastic diseases: Neoplastic disease is caused by tumors that form in the body of the chicken or hen due to a virus, most commonly, from Marek’s disease. This is one of the most common causes of death in poultry. Neoplasms are simply ‘tumors.’ This is the most common disease among poultry in the world and is found everywhere. Disease like cancers is very common too.The diseases in poultry or chickens cause a lot of devastation for the farmer. Nowadays, many chicken enthusiasts share their knowledge or stories, which helps other farmers or even budding chicken enthusiasts to learn and form a sense of community.It is important to note that most of these diseases are caused by various nutrition given to chickens, environmental and chicken coop management issues too. Factory farms do not allow the chicken to get fresh air and walk outdoors, minimizing their behavior, which causes them stress and might result in this disease or prolong the time of recovery.World’s Oldest ChickenThe world’s oldest chicken was known as Matilda, 16 years old! She hatched in 1990. Matilda was a 14 oz (.39 kg) hen, and she was the first chicken to be awarded the world’s oldest living chicken from Guinness World Records.Her breed was a variation of the Old English Game. Her owners were Keith and Donna. The major reason behind her long lifespan was because she never produced eggs. She enjoyed a stable and protected environment from predators, along with proper nutrition. The owners wanted to pursue a career in magic and Matilda, was a part of their magic career for over a decade.Due to health issues of her age, she passed away in 2006 at the age of 16 years old.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how long does a chicken live? Then why not take a look at how often do chickens lay eggs, or leghorn chicken facts?
Most people keep backyard chickens for fresh eggs.
