Safe to have 2 roosters??

[rosemarysugar]

Hi
I have 7 hens and I have always wanted a rooster but I don't want to eat fertilized eggs. I have been doing some thinking and would like to MAYBE get a rooster could we get 2 or would they fight, also would it be ok to get one (or 2) in early fall. Is there anyway to keep him from beating up the hens??
Would they not fight if we got them as chicks and raised them together?

 

[roosterhavoc]

1 rooster would be better but if you don’t want to eat fertilized eggs no roosters would be the magic number. What’s the problem with eating fertilized eggs?

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

We got ours when we got chicks and they grew up side by side. There has never been a problem with beating up the hens. He treats the girls nicely and same with the other 3 roos. He is the dominant one but he still doesn't mess with the other roos but instead watches over them and protects them as well as the girls!
I think if you get more hens you can have 2 roos but in the main time you should stick with one.

 

[rosemarysugar]

1 rooster would be better but if you don’t want to eat fertilized eggs no roosters would be the magic number. What’s the problem with eating fertilized eggs?

We would have a hard time eating fertilized eggs because we are softies and whether it looks like a chick or not, we don't want to eat something that's growing. Isn't there a short window where they haven't started growing or something and we could put the eggs in the fridge before it starts growing? I don't know much about this.

 

[roosterhavoc]

Once the egg is fertilized isn't it a baby chick?

No the egg would have to be incubated under a hen or in an actual incubator for over 24 hrs before even the slightest development started. I eat eggs everyday and they are all fertilized.

 

[Crazy for Chickens!]

2 roosters can sometimes work. You would need roughly 20 hens toake sure the roosters didn't beat them up. Sometimes roosters fight, sometimes not. So you would just have to get some and see.

Note: fertilized eggs are perfectly safe and healthy to eat . They won't develop unless sat on by a hen for at least 14 hours straight. Or, of course, incubated.
It is not living and can't feel anything unless sat on.

 

[rosemarysugar]

Ok, that's exactly what I was wondering. Thanks so much!

 

[rosemarysugar]

No the egg would have to be incubated under a hen or in an actual incubator for over 24 hrs before even the slightest development started. I eat eggs everyday and they are all fertilized.

Ahhh, I see now. Thanks so much!

 

[SueT]

Embryos won't develop unless the eggs are incubated. So yes, putting them in the fridge will prevent that. Back in the 1960's, fertilized eggs were popular and advertised as such. People thought they were somehow superior nutrition, which surely isn't the case.
I raised 2 cockerels together from babies, and as teenagers it was chaos. They chased each other, they chased and grabbed the pullets, and the hens chased them. Sold one and there was peace from that day on. The one we kept doesn't 'beat up' the girls. He asks to mate, they either say yes and squat, or no, get lost. He takes no for an answer.
If you get them as chicks, the hens will teach them manners.