About chickens?

Question

If you want some chickens for the eggs do you need a rooster? If you do not have a rooster will the hens not want to sit on the nest from time to time or will they do that anyway? Any good link to a web site with information about this? Thanks.

Answer 1

Chickens will lay eggs with or without a rooster. Youd be better off without a rooster though. www.backyardchickens.com is an excellent website.

Answer 2

No roo is required to have fresh eggs. the only way hens sit on eggs is when they are fertilized they have to have a nest to set in while having eggs other wise will lay where they want and you can loose the eggs from predators you type in raising chickens and alot of sites pop up with alot of info I have looked at several before I got my chickens 6 yrs ago

Answer 3

You don't need a rooster.  BUT a rooster is a good thing to had.  He keeps the hen is check and is the protector.  If he sees danger he will alert them all.  If he finds food he will call to the hens to eat.  

I grew up with chickens and we always had a rooster.  The flock felt complete with a rooster.  With out him they are not as much fun to watch.  

Bottom line you don't need a rooster but they are nice to have around.  They make great guards for the yard.  Ours would chase strangers away. including us sometimes.  Roosters are jerks but its fun to have them around.

Answer 4

You only need a Rooster if you intend hatching the eggs, for eating you are far better without one, plus your neighbours will be happier if you have not got one crowing at dawn.

Good luck

Answer 5

If you want to hatch out the eggs the hen lay then yes you will need a rooster. If you are just looking for fresh eggs every day then no you don't need a rooster.

Weither the hens sit on the eggs does not depend on weither there is a rooster around or not. It more depends on the hen and sometimes the breed. Leghorns (the white ones with the red combe) are the most common egg chicken. Because the eggs are usually taken away from the chicken they are less likely to sit and roost on their eggs. It is somethign that is being breed out the them. If you want a good roosting chicken then it would be best to go with a more heriage chicken. They often can be used for eggs and meat, which is nice to have. The eggs arent always white then too. They sometimes have different shades of brown and even green shelled ones. Really cool.

Another factor for weither they will sit on the eggs or nto is how safe do they feel. usually a chicken will lay their eggs in a corner or somewhere they will feel safe. The younger ones need to be trained that that is not where they are supposed to lay them. Belive me it is really gross to find an egg that has been buried for a few months. Yuck.

I don't have any website for you sorry. Everything i know is from experiance and from asking questions like you did. The best people to talk to are chicken farmers, either free range or penned up. Most farmers are willing to teach anyone who has questions. They like seeing the information that they have gathered being put to use by others.