Do hens need a rooster around in order to lay their eggs?

Question

My mom says they do not, and it's been 20 years since I've had chickensand back then I heard you do.

Answer 1

Nope. Laying eggs is a natural thing for hens to do, even if there is no rooster around. If you want fertile eggs however, you'll need a rooster. It gets on my nerves when people say they don't like eggs because there is a chick inside of it. Well, the eggs you get at Wal-Mart come from places with no roosters, so it isn't possible there is a chick in it OR it's going to hatch. Even if the eggs were fertilized, they're still edible. As long as you collect the eggs before the hens start incubating them, the chick doesn't grow. The hens don't start incubating the eggs right after she lays the first one. She hovers above the eggs while she lays more until she has laid them all - then she starts actually sitting on them.
I know that's more than you asked for...but...I'm sure someone will learn something from that...maybe..

Random fact - We were in wal-mart once and we and the cashier somehow got into a conversation about eggs. I'm not sure how it started, but I think we said that the best eggs where from your own chickens, and then I remember her saying something like "Oh I don't eat those chicken eggs, I only eat those store-bought eggs. I don't want to eat no eggs that come from a chicken's butt."
I'm serious, she actually said that. I tried so hard not to laugh. I wonder where she thinks her eggs are coming from?

Edit: At Suzanne - Feeding your hens eggshells is not a good idea. If you want your hens to get the calcium they need as well as other minerals, give your hens PVM powdered grit with oyster shell in it. Have this available with your laying mash or pellets, and your eggs will be better. The reason feeding hens eggshells isn't good, is they will sometimes become 'addicted' to it and peck at their own eggs to eat the shell. Once they get into their eggs and taste the wonderful yolk inside, they'll get in the habbit of eating their own eggs. If you do feed them eggshells though, make sure they are clean (with no left over yolk inside) and crushed up. That will lower the risk of them obtaining those bad habbits.

Answer 2

Do Chickens Need A Rooster

Answer 3

Nope, they'll lay eggs without a rooster around, but no eggs will hatch unless you have a rooster to fertilize them before they're laid.

If you want to eat the eggs, a rooster isn't necessary though he could get the hens all interested in egg laying. If you want chicks, you DEFINATELY need a rooster or the eggs will be infertile and not hatch.

Answer 4

No, you do not need a rooster. The hens will lay eggs and will do better without a rooster chasing them around.

Answer 5

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Do hens need a rooster around in order to lay their eggs?
My mom says they do not, and it's been 20 years since I've had chickensand back then I heard you do.

Answer 6

No. Eggs are a chicken's menstrual cycle, and they'll lay eggs even if they're not fertile.

Roosters do the fertilizing, but they're not needed for just plain egg-laying.

Answer 7

No a rooster is only needed if you want chickens as well as eggs

Answer 8

A hen only needs a rooster if you would like to raise a batch of chicks. However, in order to have a hen lay more eggs for you too eat or use in cooking, you need to go the local coop store and buy laying mash. You can also take eggshells, breads, vegetable scraps, and fruit scraps and mash them up well and mix them into the laying mash that is bought, which will give the hens plenty of vitamins and help them lay darker colored and more desirable eggs. On the average, a hen only lays one egg every day or two, so if you are wanting several eggs per day, you need several hens. Also, seasons and weather affects the laying of eggs. I would suggest that you research the difference between "meat chickens" and "egg laying chickens" if it makes a difference to you.

Answer 9

No. They just need a rooster to fertilize them. We never had a rooster with our chickens. One day a chicken decided she was going to hatch the eggs but they weren't fertilized so we got some eggs from the farm down the street who had a rooster and brown chickens. All our chickens were white as were the chickens she hatched but she never knew the difference.

Answer 10

no the rooster only fertilise the hen , she will lay with out a roster they just will not hatch