How to keep a rooster but still have edible eggs?

[Tala]

Quote:
That looks like a Red Sexlink Rooster. The hens are reddish, and the roos are white with some reddish brown.

Unless your house is 100*F your eggs won't develop no matter how many roosters you have.

Now, here in Arkansas if I find an egg in the 100* summer heat that I don't know how old it is, I feed it to the dogs just in case. No problem with an egg that I know is fresh in the nest box, but sometimes they get a wild hair and lay out in the yard somewhere and I just randomly find it who knows how much later. There is no problem in the air conditioned house.

 

[afveteran88]

I'm learning so much. Thanks to everyone.

 

[confusedturtle]

Tala: Thats what Ive been told RSL rooster. Im ok with him being a rooster and plan to do my best to keep him but Im hoping he doesn't have the obnoxious all day crow. Gonna wait and see, I dont want to get rid of him

I am learning so much about eggs and chicks, even hubby is surprised sometimes. He used to complain when I came on the forums, now he says "If you dont know go ask the boards"

 

[Netherworldtaken]

Ask your dad why I am getting eggs with no roo.

 

[confusedturtle]

LoL because in his crazy older man world there must be a rooster hiding behind a bush or something somewhere over there LoL! I truly hope I never get to be like that. I want to learn something new everyday and always be surprised, not insist that I am right and the rest of the world is wrong.

 

[dainerra]

I can tell you, though, that my hens are WAY louder than most of the roosters I've ever owned.

I live on the highway, chicks are on the back side of my property. My neighbor's on the other side of the road, 4 houses down, can almost tell you how many eggs I get a day and what time they were laid.

 

[Chickybooboo]

I seem to have found myself in the same boat. Did you ever get a answer? Do you still have your rooster. I'm not 100% sure yet if Henrietta is a Henry but it seems very likely. S/he is much bigger, has a much bigger comb and somewhat iridescent feathers which I read are all signs of a rooster. There are not spurs on the feet though, so I'm holding on to that hope. I really don't want to get rid of her/ him. Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Thank you so much.

 

[Going Quackers]

Collect eggs daily and you won't be able to tell fertilized vs not.

Exactly or should that be eggactly lol

 

[Chickybooboo]

Ok, sorry if I look stupid, I couldn't see the replies until I created an account. Some eggcelent answers about the fertilized eggs. I'm also curious about whether I need to separate him. I read that there should be at least 8-10 hens to one rooster. I only have 3. I don't want him hurting the girls. Then if I separate him won't he be lonely and or more likely to crow because he wants to be with his hens. If I have to get rid of him I'd like to know he will be treated well and not eaten - I love him! Maybe crazy but I got them as babies, fell in love and have been babying them ever since. How can I find a loving home?

 

[Chilali]

It really depends on the individual rooster as far as hurting the hens. A few lost feathers won't hurt the hens; as long as it doesn't become excessive I wouldn't worry. The whole 10-hens-per-rooster rule is more for people with several roosters who want to let them run together and minimize fighting... and even then, it's not a perfect rule. I've got two Marans cockerels together with only 13 hens and they don't fight more than an occasional 30-second sparring match with no resultant injury. I've kept a single hen penned with one of my gentler roosters for over two months with no more than maybe three feathers lost on her neck the whole time. The hen was being aggressive toward the other girls, so I had to keep her apart for a while to get her to chill out... didn't end up working as she jumped on one of the other hens within about ten seconds of being reintroduced, so I dumped her back in with the rooster until I could let my cockerels grow up enough to keep her in check. He never hurt her at all.

I would personally let them grow up and just keep an eye on them as the pullets reach point-of-lay and see how he behaves. If he becomes a problem, you can separate him and just give him access for a little while every couple of days. Odds are that he'll be fine with three girls. I've only ever had one rooster that was overly aggressive toward the hens, and he was an old game fowl cock who was mostly insane anyway. Luckily I never hatched any eggs from that fellow...