Quick answer
Poultry in the UK typically cost £5–£150. PetTrader lists poultry from licensed breeders, private sellers and rescues, across 10 breed guides, with prices, locations and health details on every advert. Listings follow Lucy's Law and the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) Regulations 2018.
Poultry typically sell for £5–£150 in the UK. Price depends on breed, species or variety, health testing and registration paperwork, the seller's location and the time of year. Anything priced well below the range below is worth questioning — it is a common sign of an unlicensed seller or a scam advert.
| Breed | Typical UK price |
|---|---|
| Silkie Chicken chicks | £15–£50 |
| Orpington Chicken chicks | £20–£60 |
| Rhode Island Red chicks | £12–£35 |
| Pekin Bantam chicks | £15–£45 |
| Light Sussex chicks | £15–£40 |
| Call Duck ducklings | £20–£60 |
| Indian Runner Duck ducklings | £20–£50 |
| Pygmy Goat kids | £150–£400 |
| Nigerian Dwarf Goat kids | £200–£600 |
| Alpaca crias | £500–£3,000 |
All bird keepers in Great Britain must register their birds with APHA regardless of flock size. Registration is free and means you get avian influenza alerts and housing order notices, which matter for the welfare of your flock and for your neighbours'.
Use weld mesh rather than chicken wire, dig a skirt outwards at ground level or use a walk-in run with a mesh roof, and shut birds in at dusk. Most flock losses in UK gardens are foxes taking birds in daylight, not just at night.
Keep new birds separate from your existing flock for two to three weeks, check for scaly leg, lice and respiratory noise, and ask about vaccination history and worming. Buying from a keeper who lets you see the whole flock is safer than a market or car boot.
Point-of-lay hybrid hens usually cost £15–£30 each, rescue ex-commercial hens a few pounds, pure breeds and bantams £20–£60, and ducks and geese £20–£150 depending on breed. Housing, a secure run and feed are the bigger long-term costs.
Yes. In Great Britain all bird keepers must register their birds with APHA, however few they keep. Registration means you receive disease alerts and housing orders during an avian influenza outbreak.
At least three. Hens are flock birds and a single bird kept alone will be stressed and vulnerable. Three to six hybrid hens suit a typical garden and will produce plenty of eggs for a household.
A good hybrid layer produces around 250–300 eggs in her first year, tailing off each year afterwards. Pure breeds generally lay less but live and lay for longer, and all hens slow or stop while moulting and in deep winter.
No. Hens lay perfectly well without one — a cockerel is only needed if you want fertile eggs for hatching. Many local authorities and neighbours object to the noise, so check before keeping one.
Use a solid house locked at dusk, weld-mesh rather than chicken wire, and either a dug-in skirt or a full walk-in run. During an avian influenza housing order you must keep birds under cover and follow the biosecurity rules issued by Defra.
View the animal in person at the seller's own home before any money changes hands, keep all messages inside PetTrader so there is a record, and never pay by bank transfer, gift card or crypto to someone you have not met. Every PetTrader seller completes a photo-ID and live selfie check, and verified accounts carry a badge, and you can report an advert from the listing page.
Selling rather than buying? Identity-verified private sellers get their first advert free, and the first 200 businesses and breeders get 12 months free. Read where to advertise poultry for sale in the UK for the options, costs and legal rules, or how to rehome a pet if you are finding a new home for one you already own.
