Can chickens live to be 16 or 20?!!!!

[Farmgirl283420]

Hi I would love for my chickens to live for years and years I love them so much is it possible to have a chicken live to be 16 or 20?!! How long did your chicken or chickens live?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I think the Guinness record for a chicken is 16 years but others have claimed 20 years. Guinness certifies their records, not everyone does. I believe the Guinness record for oldest person is 122 years. Humans can live to 122, but the vast majority of us won't. Chickens can live to 16 and maybe even 20 years old, but the vast majority of them won't.

Enjoy them while you can.

 

[Quarterhorses1]

Hi I would love for my chickens to live for years and years I love them so much is it possible to have a chicken live to be 16 or 20?!! How long did your chicken or chickens live?

Sorry to burst your bubble but there’s EXTREMELY little to no chance they’ll love that long. What breed?

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

It's possible, but unlikely for a chicken to live that long, as Ridgerunner says. Mine average 6-8 years I think, with a few living into their double digits but most passing on before then. Quality of care can only do so much when genetics and miscellaneous ailments come into play, and unfortunately a lot of predators like to eat chickens as well so their lives can be shortened by that, especially in a free-range setting. Highly productive egg layers and meat birds tend to have short lives in general, while dual purpose birds can live a bit longer, and mixed breeds and breeds not bred for any kind of production, especially bantam-sized, live the longest in my experience. My oldest at the moment will be 13 years old in about a week and she's an Easter-egger.

 

[fluffycrow]

Extremely rare. Just because it happened once doesn't mean it'll happen to your birds. Enjoy them while they're here, because they probably won't be here for that long

 

[Quarterhorses1]

It's possible, but unlikely for a chicken to live that long, as Ridgerunner says. Mine average 6-8 years I think, with a few living into their double digits but most passing on before then. Quality of care can only do so much when genetics and miscellaneous ailments come into play, and unfortunately a lot of predators like to eat chickens as well so their lives can be shortened by that, especially in a free-range setting. Highly productive egg layers and meat birds tend to have short lives in general, while dual purpose birds can live a bit longer, and mixed breeds and breeds not bred for any kind of production, especially bantam-sized, live the longest in my experience. My oldest at the moment will be 13 years old in about a week and she's an Easter-egger.

Omg! My oldest was 3-4

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Sorry to burst your bubble but there’s EXTREMELY little to no chance they’ll love that long. What breed?

Jersey giants buff Orpington calico Cochins a frizzle Cochin and silkies

 

[Chicken poppy]

Hi I would love for my chickens to live for years and years I love them so much is it possible to have a chicken live to be 16 or 20?!! How long did your chicken or chickens live?

To simplify, yes, it is, technically possible. But i seriously wouldn’t count on it. This heavily depends on a lot of factors.

Diet

Free ranging (This is great for the diet bit and egg yolks but predators are pretty horrible)

Diseases (They spread very fast.)

And a bunch of other factors, there are so many and it would literally be a miracle if your chicken lives to 20. The average age is 5, but 10 isn’t to crazy to expect. Ovarian cancer is quite common in breeds/hybrids that are bred to lay a lot, like leghorns and black sex link, so on average i wouldn’t expect them to go over the two year mark.

Problems depend on the chicken itself, what ones do you have? I’ll list a few examples. This does NOT limit the breed to only these problems and it isn’t always the case, however, is pretty common in these in particular. This isn’t an attempt to frighten you because i’m sure yours will be fine, just to provide insight on why this is somewhat uncommon for a lifespan.


Silkie/Polish, etc. - Genetic issues/brain damage due to vaulted skulls

Leghorn/Black sex link/ Rhode island red, etc. - Ovarian cancer
Meat birds (like broilers) also often develop ascites though this can be linked to ovarian cancer.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

To simplify, yes, it is, technically possible. But i seriously wouldn’t count on it. This heavily depends on a lot of factors.

Diet

Free ranging (This is great for the diet bit and egg yolks but predators are pretty horrible)

Diseases (They spread very fast.)

And a bunch of other factors, there are so many and it would literally be a miracle if your chicken lives to 20. The average age is 5, but 10 isn’t to crazy to expect. Ovarian cancer is quite common in breeds/hybrids that are bred to lay a lot, like leghorns and black sex link, so on average i wouldn’t expect them to go over the two year mark.

Problems depend on the chicken itself, what ones do you have? I’ll list a few examples. This does NOT limit the breed to only these problems and it isn’t always the case, however, is pretty common in these in particular. This isn’t an attempt to frighten you because i’m sure yours will be fine, just to provide insight on why this is somewhat uncommon for a lifespan.


Silkie/Polish, etc. - Genetic issues/brain damage due to vaulted skulls

Leghorn/Black sex link/ Rhode island red, etc. - Ovarian cancer

Oh noooooo I have silkies!

 

[Chicken poppy]

Oh noooooo I have silkies!

This is just a example of a more common possibility for them opposed to things that are more likely to affect others. Keep in mind a breed will always be more likely to get something then another.
My black sex link is perfectly fine and healthy, and shows no sign of cancer, so are all my other chickens. Many things can be prevented and if you look for signs before it becomes to obvious, things can often be reversed.
Just look for symptoms of anything weird and you should be perfectly fine. Just keep in mind silkies are more of a fragile breed, so i would recommend maybe going a hardier route when you get more if your not looking to get a broken heart to soon.