Meat chickens

Keeping chickens for meat is popular with smallholders and crofters, and many people in Scotland keep a couple of chickens in their backyards for personal use. Chickens can be kept alongside other livestock, combined with market gardening, and kept in a variety of spaces. 

Updated 7 June 2026

Transport & slaughter

Transporting chickens

If you transport chickens to your farm/croft or take them elsewhere in a vehicle, you have a legal responsibility to ensure their welfare during transit. You must log all journeys involving transport of birds.

If you sell meat from your chickens, you are considered to be transporting them for ’commercial purposes’ and must comply with relevant regulations. You are exempt if you are transporting the chicken to a vet.

After transporting poultry, you must clean and disinfect your vehicle after unloading. You must do this within 24 hours or before using the vehicle to transport poultry/livestock again, whichever comes first.

Read more about your legal duties on animal welfare during transport (this guidance also applies to Scotland). 

Approvals

If you transport poultry more than 65km as part of an economic activity, you will need to apply for two types of approvals. There are different requirements for both approvals depending on whether the journey is under or over 8 hours.

Drivers need a Certificate of Competence (CoC) which confirms that they know how to transport animals responsibly. CoC is not required for journeys to the vet. NPTC City & Guilds Assessment Centre and Lantra organize CoC courses. 
Your farming/crofting business needs a Transporter Authorisation. Contact APHA Welfare in Transport team for an application pack – the authorisation is valid for 5 years.

If the journey is over 8 hours, you must also get your vehicle and containers approved. This approval is valid for 5 years, and you can apply through the APHA Welfare in Transport team.

Slaughtering chickens for meat production

Chickens sent for slaughter are generally 5-12 weeks old, dependent on the breed. To place chicken meat on the market, the chickens must in most circumstances be slaughtered in an approved abattoir or by a mobile slaughter unit.

Abattoirs and mobile slaughter units must be approved by Food Standards Scotland (FSS)- see the list of approved abattoirs. You must also provide a Food Chain Information declaration about the chickens. See guidance on Food Chain Information by FSS.

Home slaughter

You can slaughter your own chicken if the meat is for your immediate household’s consumption. There are legal requirements for home slaughter:

The farmer, or a person who holds a Certificate of Competence (CoC) on the owner’s property must slaughter the animal.
The slaughter must be done on your farm. 
Poultry by-products must be disposed of in accordance with animal by-products legislation.
The Welfare at the Time of Killing (WATOK) regulations apply.

Humane Slaughter Association

Meat chickens