do you need a rooster?

[big red chicken]

I want to know do you really need a rooster to increase your egg laying from the hens?

 

[NoseyChickens]

I was wondering the same thing today. I'm just not sure I would want to deal with the noise.

 

[saddina]

Only if you want to hatch your own chicks. The roo's only job in the egg laying is to make them fertle for hatching, they get released on thier own (much like how a woman's body releases eggs without a male).

 

[Chotii]

More than half the people I talk to, when I tell them I have hens, want to know if they'll lay eggs without a rooster. People don't know.

I just tell them, "Sure, they'll lay. But the eggs won't hatch, just like grocery store eggs."

On the other hand, not having a rooster is GREAT for my relationship with my neighbors.

 

[speckledhen]

Depending on the rooster, if he's an aggressive mater, they may lay less, trying to hide from him and being stressed. I love having roosters. They've saved my girls from hawk attack numerous times.