If you are interested in expanding your flock, there are other options available to you. The only reasons to have a rooster is to have fertilized eggs & protection for the hens. In order to maintain healthy egg production, hens should receive around 14 hours’ worth of day length each day. Being repeatedly mated by a forceful or ungentlemanly rooster can cause some hens to actually decrease in egg production over time due to stress or injury. Without a rooster, the eggs are infertile, so won't develop into young chicks. 5 Reasons Why Your Chickens Are Laying Soft Eggs – Causes & Treatment. anon290530 September 10, 2012 . The importance of having a male depends on the purpose of using the eggs: use; use and subsequent withdrawal of new offspring. Wild birds don't lay eggs everyday, but chickens were domesticated by humans to lay eggs as often as possible. Egg laying in hens is a usual body process. Can a Chicken Lay Eggs Without a Rooster or is it a Myth? Of course, chickens can lay without a rooster if there is none, only the egg will be unfertilized. All hens lay eggs. The eggs w/o a rooster are not fertile. Therefore, any chicken owners should be sure to take both into consideration before adding a rooster to the flock. Basically – if there was no rooster around, the hens would lay eggs anyway, but the eggs would never hatch into chicks. There are some benefits to having a rooster, as it does offer significant protection for the flock. Can a chicken lay eggs without a rooster? The ultimate answer is no, you do not need a rooster in order to raise egg-laying chickens. However, if you want baby chicks, you’ll need that rooster. How to Care for Laying Hens on the Small Farm, Keep Your Laying Hens Happy Through the Winter, How to Get Hens to Lay Eggs in Nest Boxes, Easy Chicken Care Tasks to Make Part of Your Routine, Chicken Breeds: Plymouth Rock or Barred Rock, How to Raise and Keep Broody Hens for Eggs. Comparison shop different diets available to you to determine which is most suitable for your purposes. If your hens are starting to spend a lot of time with the rooster because they are nearing laying-age, you may need to make sure to separate the rooster from the nesting boxes. How Do Chickens Mate? Yes, but eggs from hen without a rooster are infertile eggs. Have you ever seen a two or three tone egg? Hens need lots of sunshine or light to lay eggs. This is only beneficial when a large poultry farm is exclusively engaged in egg production. Each egg takes between 24 to 26 hours to form. The presence of a rooster among your flock of birds is necessary for various reasons. The lighting intensity should be such that a person could read newsprint at the eye level of the birds. Hens lay eggs whether or not a male is around. A healthy female chicken can lay an egg every 24 to 27 hours, regardless of whether or not chickens lay eggs without a rooster around. Can a Chicken Lay Eggs Without a Rooster or is it a Myth? There are also nesting boxes that will provide your hens with access to the rooster without compromising the eggs. The conditions hens require are: Daylight – Hens require at least 16 hours of … Let’s look into the basics of egg laying and a few reasons to consider keeping a rooster anyway. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. There are a lot of great resources available for building and setting up nesting boxes that will accommodate your chickens. This is a popular misconception when it comes to chickens. So, it seems fitting that this is our first official blog post topic. When roosters are young it is possible for you to keep them together, however as they get older, they will begin to fight to the point where injuries are inevitable. You don't need a rooster for your hens to lay eggs, as hens will lay just as many eggs whether there's a rooster around or not. Chickens make great backyard pets and the fact that they give back by delivering fresh, delicious eggs only adds to the allure of keeping them. Chickens require certain conditions to lay eggs on a regular basis, but a rooster is not one of them. There are soft shell eggs, shell-less eggs, rubber eggs, and partially-shelled eggs. The same way many female humans ovulate every month, with or without having sex or even having any men around. What matters that without roosters, no matter what the egg produced will be infertile. As noted above, the elements of a healthy egg-laying operation that you should certainly put stock into include good nutrition and a healthy environment. Find a site on the Internet and read … A common question my wife and I get is, “Do you need a rooster for hens to lay eggs?”. There are a few different elements that can play a role in whether your chickens will come “of age,” allowing them to lay eggs. Since all chickens come from eggs, it only makes sense that all breeds need to lay eggs to make the next generation of chickens. Hens don’t need a rooster in order to lay eggs. Roosters provide protection for the rest of the flock. The best reason to hatch eggs is for sustenance. Of course, if you are interested in breeding your own hens, then you will need a rooster - but before you go down … The peak age for egg-laying comes at around 32 weeks of age and continues at this level until around 65 to 68 weeks of age. The only thing I can think of … If the chickens are not receiving adequate nutrition, then one of two things could happen. Yes, hens can lay eggs without a rooster, and they’ll might even lay them a bit easier and more regularly. They will succumb quickly to severe heat stress if you do not provide them with proper shade, ample water, and adequate ventilation. Eggs are fertilized when a rooster mates with a hen. Yes, for sure, thanks to their unique reproductive process, hens, at their right stage of maturity, can complete the progress of egg production regardless of a rooster present. You can reduce the adverse effects that come with heat stress by providing enough ventilation and shade as chickens naturally do better in a cooler environment. In our city house, I let the girls out an hour or two before bedtime and they loved it. Make hens wear out quickly: One of the biggest problems with roosters is that they make hens wear out. If you want your hens to sit on eggs and hatch them you will need a rooster. However, learn more about how to keep a rooster in with laying hens. Chicken can carry eggs on its own, because the rooster does not affect the formation of the structure of the egg - shell, protein and yolk. Do Hens Lay Eggs Without a Rooster? The male birds can be beneficial for meat however you will need to know how to house them separately and how to handle them humanely if this is the route you take. They may begin to investigate the nesting area, spend more time hanging around the rooster, or their typical behavior may simply deviate in other ways. You don’t need a rooster in your flock for your hens to lay eggs. This is only beneficial when a large poultry farm is exclusively engaged in egg production. Yes, hens lay eggs without a rooster. Hens can still produce eggs even without having met a rooster however it will not be hatched. Have you ever had a chicken question you were too afraid to ask because you thought people would laugh? Without a rooster , the eggs are infertile, so won't develop into young chicks. So when it comes to chickens, hens will lay eggs without a rooster — and she will do it roughly every 24 to 26 hrs regardless whether is a rooster around to ‘get them in the mood’ or not. 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