There are no national rules or regulations in the UK that stop you from keeping small numbers (less than 50) chickens however there are some regulations to check first.
- DEFRA: You are allowed to keep up to 50 chickens on your land without registering with DEFRA, however after the avian influenza outbreaks, a poultry register was set up in 2005 and you are required to register if you keep more than 50 poultry on the premises – so you need to take into consideration any other poultry you have. There is more information on my page: DEFRA: The Poultry Register
- By-Laws: There are occasionally by-laws for certain properties that prevent people from keeping livestock. Check with your local council that this doesn’t apply to you.
- Covenants: There are sometimes covenants put in place by housing authorities and councils to stop tenants from keeping chickens at their property. This seems to be a local decision as there are no national restrictions.
- House Deeds: Again, the deeds of some properties may state that you are not allowed to keep chickens (again, often stated as keeping livestock). If your property is free of restrictions, you should be able to keep chickens without a problem, however do keep in mind that local residents may complain to the council about noise levels if you keep a cockerel.
There are a number of Laws, regulations and requirements that can affect you (in the UK) and I have created a number of sub pages to cover these briefly:
I can’t find any rules for or against keeping roosters. Are they simply referred to as chickens in general.
I will have 2 roosters with 5 hens (unfortunately I will have to give away the remaining 2 roos).
I intend to keep one roo for breeding purposes and a second for future chickens. None of the birds are related and I intend to keep it that way.
My problem is I have a couple of neighbours that might not like the noise although I only have Pekins which are very small and much less noisy than regular chickens.
BTW I live in Manchester, UK.
You are correct Kymm, the rules only cover ‘chickens’ and cocks or roosters are classified as chickens.
The only issue I see would be noise and there have certainly been people losing their roosters as a result of complaints.
If you are considerate with the time you let them out and can keep them far enough away from your neighbours bedrooms, you shouldn’t have too many problems.
My neighbour has chickens/hens and they seem to wake up 5:30am clucking away loudly with themselves off and on till past 10:00am when the seem to quieten down…. keeping my partner and I awake. Occasionally they have a rooster, which is even worse for the sound. It’s getting very antisocial as we live in an avenue in a very urban and concrete town. As much as we love animals this is driving us mad as it’s every day, seven days a week. I work 50plus hours a week and our sleep patterns are completely trashed… Please can you give me some advice.
I think you’d need to go and have a chat with your neighbour to see whether there is something that could be done. I’m no expert but if they are creating excessive noise and you have approached your neighbour and not been able to resolve it, then I guess the local Council would be able to assist.
I’m thinking about chickens – do you have any advice on best location? Do they need a bot of sun or should they be sheltered? We have a huge garden so spoilt for locations to put them, but I want to make sure they are in the best position for their health (and happiness).
Choose a sunny location – they need sunshine to thrive, but ensure they can also get access to shade during the warmer summer months. They should have protection from the wind and some shelter from the rain. This can be as simple as them being able to go under their house or having access to a small covered run.
Excellent advice, lack of sun can cause vitamin D deficiencies reducing the quality of the eggs. If your breeding from the hens the vitamin deficiency can cause splayed leg in the chicks.
Can you please tell me if it is illegal to feed hens mealworms and layers mash?? Thankyou.
Yes, the regulations say you shouldn’t feed mealworms.
You’re fine with layers mash.
A friend of mine has chickens on a farm, it has been there for 200 to 300 years behind a pub. They have knocked the pub down and built houses on the land. Somebody has complained about the noise the council have told him to get rid of has cockerels because of the crowing or he will get a £5,000 fine. Have they got the right to do that? Farm land is farm land, it is registered as a pig farm.
Hi Paul,
I’m sorry I don’t know if the rules would be any different for a farm. I guess it’s a disturbance whether the noise comes from a farm / business or residential dwelling.