Keeping hens · National rules

Can you keep backyard chickens in Slovenia?

Registration is required for the keepers covered below, according to the government's business portal and to the farmed-animal protection rules as listed on 2 April 2023 (later changes not checked). What we found on bird flu, welfare and the keeping rule follows, including what we couldn't establish.

Read from 3 official sources22 passages quotedChecked October 29, 2026

At a glance

Registering your flock

Registration required

National keeping rule

No rule identified

Bird-flu housing orders

Status needs rechecking

Welfare rules

Rule identified

A sourced reading of national law in Slovenia, not legal advice. Local ordinances and zoning, HOA rules, and any local rooster or coop limits aren't covered here yet: check your local code before you get hens.

Keeping your flock

These findings cover the national scope stated below. They do not determine whether chickens are allowed at a particular home. City zoning, property restrictions and other local rules are outside this research.

Registering as a poultry keeper

Rule identified for the scope below

Jurisdiction: Slovenia

Applies to: Poultry keepers: the natural or legal person who owns the birds and is responsible for them (government business portal SPOT); laying-hen houses on holdings with 350 or more hens (farmed-animal protection rules, arts 36 and 42).

What the checked sources say

  • The government's business portal (SPOT) says all poultry keepers must be entered in the register of keepers of farmed animals (EIRŽ), and that a keeper of laying hens must register in the laying-hen register; changes are reported within 30 days. The Livestock Act article behind this was not read.
  • Under the farmed-animal protection rules (consolidated text no. 1, as listed on 2 April 2023), laying-hen houses on holdings covered by arts 36 to 41 must be registered with the veterinary administration (art. 42(1)); that chapter does not apply to holdings with fewer than 350 laying hens unless they register for egg marking (art. 36).
  • A fee was not found in the texts read.

Thresholds

  • Farmed-animal protection rules art. 36(1)(a): the laying-hen chapter, including house registration, does not apply to holdings with fewer than 350 laying hens (unless registered for egg marking, art. 36(2)).

Authority: Ministry of Agriculture (register of poultry keepers); UVHVVR (laying-hen houses)

Fee: Not established from the sources checked.

The official wording

Bird-flu housing orders

Current status needs rechecking

Check the official current-status page

Orders can change between checks. A missed check or an expired order does not establish that no order applies.

Housing-order finding as checked on 2026-11-08

The scope and conditions below are a dated record, not confirmation of today's position.

Not established from the sources checked

Uses housing orders in this scope: Not established from the sources checked.

Jurisdiction: Slovenia

Applies to: Bird-flu measures and recommendations published by UVHVVR.

What the checked sources say

  • UVHVVR's avian influenza page (last changed 27 March 2026) asks keepers to follow recommendations for the whole of Slovenia adopted by the National Disease Control Centre, including keeping poultry outdoors only if protected from wild birds (for example with nets or roofs), or keeping them in an enclosed space with feed and water indoors. These are worded as recommendations.
  • Avian influenza is a compulsorily notifiable disease; any suspicion must be reported at once to the nearest veterinary organisation or a UVHVVR regional office.
  • Which body may order poultry to be housed, and under which law, was not established in the texts read.
  • This page does not say whether any bird-flu order applies now; check UVHVVR's avian influenza page.
Checked
Recheck due

Historical evidence, as checked

These quotations record what was checked on the dates shown. They do not confirm an order's current status.

Small-flock welfare minimums

Rule identified for the scope below

Jurisdiction: Slovenia

Applies to: All farmed animals (rejne živali) under the farmed-animal protection rules; not wild animals, animals at competitions or shows, pets, test animals or invertebrates (art. 1(4)-(5)).

Outside this finding's scope

  • Pets (hišne živali), wild animals, animals at competitions, shows or events, test animals, invertebrates (art. 1(5)).

What the checked sources say

  • The carer must do everything to ensure the welfare of the animals in his care and prevent causes of pain, injury, disease or behavioural disorders (art. 4(1)), and seek veterinary help in time for sick or injured animals (art. 6(1)).
  • Animals must have freedom of movement suited to their species, age and development (art. 8(1)); animals kept outside buildings must where needed be protected from bad weather, predators and other dangers (art. 10); feed and watering must keep them healthy (art. 12(1)).
  • Whether a small household flock counts as farmed animals was not established; the rules do not define the term in the articles read (arts 1 and 2). Quoted from consolidated text no. 1 as listed on 2 April 2023; later changes not checked.

The official wording

National rules on keeping poultry

No rule identified in this research

Jurisdiction: Slovenia

Applies to: Rules on where chickens may be kept on a residential or other plot.

What the checked sources say

  • A national rule on where chickens may be kept was not found in the texts read (small-quantity rules, registration rules, egg quality rules, farmed-animal protection rules, and the government's poultry-keeper page).
  • Whether municipal ordinances or spatial plans limit keeping hens was not established; ask your municipality (občina).

The official wording

This does not establish that keeping is unrestricted or that all rules are local.

Selling eggs in Slovenia? →License, small-flock line, markets and cartons, on their own page.Selling: Exempt within limits (2023 rules)

More countries we've checked

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Common questions

Do I have to register backyard chickens in Slovenia?
Registration: required. The finding covers: Poultry keepers: the natural or legal person who owns the birds and is responsible for them (government business portal SPOT); laying-hen houses on holdings with 350 or more hens (farmed-animal protection rules, arts 36 and 42). Farmed-animal protection rules art. 36(1)(a): the laying-hen chapter, including house registration, does not apply to holdings with fewer than 350 laying hens (unless registered for egg marking, art. 36(2)). Authority: Ministry of Agriculture (register of poultry keepers); UVHVVR (laying-hen houses).
Can I keep chickens in my backyard in Slovenia?
The national sources we read don't settle it, and we haven't identified who decides. Check your local rules before you get hens.
Do I have to keep my hens indoors for bird flu in Slovenia?
Housing orders come and go, so we never show one as current. This page links the official status page to check today.

Allowed where you live? Then keep the records.

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