Basic help with rooster

[rentaplumber]

Hi,
This is the first year we have had a rooster with our small flock.
What is the best way to prevent the rooster from fertalizing eggs. The flock and rooster came from the same group of chicks so they have allways been together, but his main purpose was to protect, i never thought about him fertalizing eggs. We dont want chicks at this time we mainly want eggs to eat and share with neighbors.
Do i need to seperate him from the hens when they start laying?
can we just eat the fertal eggs? sounds a little gross. But i am new to this
Thank you
lenny

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can eat the fertile eggs, no problem. Fertility does not change the taste, consistency, or how long they will store. People have been eating fertile eggs for thousands of years with no problems.

 

[TaLani]

Also, the only way you'll get chicks is if one of your hens "goes broody" and you let her sit on the eggs. You can always take the eggs away from the broody hen & break her of her broodiness. Hope that helps.

 

[sred98]

There's no way to prevent him from fertilizing the eggs, unless you keep him penned seperately from the females. If you don't want the male, you can always rehome him. You do not need a rooster for the hens to lay eggs. Since you are new, I don't know if you knew that, or not. A lot of people don't know that.

As long as you collect the eggs each day and put them in the fridge, there's really no difference in fertilized vs. unfertilized eggs. Absolutely no difference in taste or texture. You would have to know what to look for, to be able to tell. If you'd like, do a search on here for bullseye. You'll find the link showing how to tell.

Shelly

 

[greyhorsewoman]

Most folks have no clue if an egg is fertile or not, as far as eating goes. There is nothing to 'gross out' over. Fertile eggs will only develop if allowed to 'incubate.'