New, new, new, new member, new to chickens, new to the computer.

[henpeckedmuch]

I inherited 10 Rhode Island Reds,from a friend that had to move, (to be honest one of them has a little white in her tail feathers, We used to say she might be a cabbage patch baby) and bought a big golden colored rooster. I plan to exchange him for a RIR when I can find one. I haven't had chickens since I was nine years old so don't really know anything about them. My ladies birthday was this last March so they are learning also. I'm tempting the girls to trust me by sitting with them and feeding them goodies. They love the pears and blueberries I grow and will eat them out of my hand but won't let me pet them yet. My wife laughs at me when I tell her how good they make me feel. She tells everyone that when I'm not in the dog house I'm in the hen house.
I have questions that refect both my desires and my iqnorance. And I'm not even sure how to read your answers if you replie. But, I'll try to find them.
Do I need a rooster to make the hens want to lay? It seems like he just gets them riled up chasing them around.
Do I need to buy a incubator to have chicks in the spring? Seems like they should know how to take care of that theirselves?
How often do you have to have to replace the chickens to keep them laying eggs?

 

[redsoxs]

Hello and welcome from Kansas!

I'm a newbie as well so I'll let others wiser than I am address your questions!

 

[Cadjien_De_Louisiane]

Hello and Welcome
You do not need a rooster. I had a few people that I knew tell me that my hens would lay more eggs with a rooster and they still lay the same amount as they did without.

 

[BrokenRoadFarm]

You do not need a rooster unless you want fertilized eggs; which leads to your next question - no incubator needed if you don't have fertilized eggs - but if you have a broody hen, she will sit on the eggs instead (fertilized or not, so make sure they are fertilized!). Not sure how often you need to "replace" a hen for egg production...we are still waiting for our first egg (our girls are 19 weeks)

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC.

 

[texasgal]

A big Texas-sized

 

[Nicole01]

Hello and welcome to BYC!

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[True Grit]

from MN! I believe commercial egg producers replace their hens at 18 months but they will keep laying, just more intermittently. My four are 14 months old and they seem to be slowing down but they lay way more than my hubby and I can eat so I don't care. I don't have a rooster.

 

[sourland]

from NJ. You do not need a rooster to get eggs--as a matter of fact an over aggressive or overzealous rooster may reduce egg production through the stress that he causes. Your hens may or may not go broody and set their own eggs depending upon the breed. Production tends to drop off after the second or third year. Some people replace half to a third of the flock each year. Others run an old hens' home and tolerate the gradually decreasing egg production-- it's a matter of choice. Enjoy the birds and keep it fun.