A hen named Peanut, from Michigan, USA, is now confirmed to be the world’s oldest living chicken, over two decades after surviving a brush with death when she was abandoned by her mother.
Born in the spring of 2002, Peanut is at least 20 years 304 days old as of 1 March 2023.
She is a bantam breed of chicken – a Belgian d’Uccle/Nankin mix to be specific – raised from birth by Marsi Darwin, a retired librarian.
Bantams are smaller than standard-sized chickens, but are otherwise similar in most respects. Peanut’s age has been verified by her vet, Dr Julia Parker, who first met Peanut in 2003 as a fully-grown adult hen.
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Chicken lifespans vary widely, with the average being somewhere around 5-10 years. The oldest chicken ever, Muffy (USA, 1989 – 2012), a Red Quill Muffed American Game who lived to the age of 23 years 152 days.
