Do chickens need a rooster in order to be able to lay eggs?

Question

Do chickens need a rooster in order to be able to lay eggs?

Answer 1

No. They will lay infertile eggs.

Answer 2

No. Hens lay eggs even if no rooster/cockerel is present or has mated with them. These eggs are infertile and will never hatch - these are the eggs we eat. If the hen mates with a rooster, his sperm will fertilize her eggs, which will then develop into chicks and hatch after an incubation period. A hen doesn't need a rooster to produce eggs, but she does to produce offspring.

Answer 3

No, a chicken can lay eggs without a rooster. But a rooster is required to get fertilised eggs, which are the only ones capable of hatching.

Answer 4

Hens (female chickens) can lay eggs without the presence of roosters (male chickens).  Most egg farms have hens without the presence of roosters because they only need eggs for consumption, not fertile eggs to incubate.  Of course, without roosters present the eggs will not be fertile.

I hope this helps!

Answer 5

No, but if the egg needs to hatch then the rooster has to fertilize them. The chickens just lay the unfertilized eggs anyways.

Answer 6

No, they can lay eggs anyway.  They just won't be fertilized.  This doesn't make any difference in eggs for eating, only if you want to raise chickens.

"One thing you should keep in mind is that if a rooster is not present, another hen will most likely stop laying to act the part of rooster to the other hens."

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Answer 7

No! Only to fertilize them,