A couple questions raising chicks?

Question

Is hay a good bedding for them?

do i need a rooster?

how to tell whether they are the edible eggs or baby chicks?

Answer 1

Hay is okay, but wood shavings are better.

You don't need a rooster unless you want fertile eggs.

You can't hatch eggs you buy at the grocery store. When your own chickens lay eggs you can eat them as long as they haven't been sitting in the nest for more than a day, even if they're fertile. You can candle the eggs by holding them up to a very bright light or a special candling light to see if there's anything growing inside.

Answer 2

You have to be careful with wood shavings, the kind used for hamsters is toxic to chickens. (I don't remember the type, but I think its pine.) Straw makes a good bedding too. Especially for building nests. You do not need or want a roo unless you will be hatching babies. They often become very aggressive and attack their owners, but not all. There are pleanty of good friendly ones out there.

As long as you take the egg up the day it is laid and don't expose it to extreme temps (above 90) then you can eat them even if they are fertile. Without the high temp, the baby will not grow and it will look and taste just like an egg from the store, only tons better because its fresh. If you want to hatch babies and know if the egg is fertile, allow it to incubate for 7 days and then candle it. If it is fertile you will see veins.  

Answer 3

Hay is NOT good for chickens although it won't hurt them hay just constantly attracts hen fleas and mites.

straw or softwood shavings is much better and is what i use :D

You only need a rooster if you intend to breed your chickens . .

But there is nothing stopping you having one . .  although a rooster will do you no service unless you want him for chicks and fertilizing eggs.

excess roosters can and are quite annoying to deal with.

If you have a few female hens and 2 roosters the roosters will start to fight (if they are not in a very LARGE space) and roosters also eat allot of food. I actually have a large pen with 5 roosters in (no females of course) and  they never fight because there are no female hens withing sight (which is why roosters fight). and i keep these roosters separate because they were starting to annoy the rest of the flock of chickens (so now there are only 2 males with the rest of then hens which is in perfect harmony now) and the 5 roosters are now called bachelorors and are such funny things!

to tell if they are edible or baby chicks?

That is simple

If the egg has been incubated by a hen  for over 24 hours and is fertile then it will most likely contain blood od vessels

(a growing chick embryo).

But if the egg has been freshly lay-ed by a hen

( or up to 3 days old)

It is perfectly edible and even if it is fertile it will not contain a chick. . unless it is incubated.

(sorry if i made it sound confusing)