Is there a way to keep a rooster with hens and to keep them from breeding?

[aart]

AART. I seem to agree with most things you post on here. But I have to question this quote. 2 points especially as they seem to relate to people on his forum. If you free range, a proper rooster will give some protection for the flock from predation.
Equally, for hobbyist/pet keepers. LOOKS. So, if eye candy is as/more important as egg production, a rooster (s) can be a valuable addition to the flock. No?

Sometimes cock/erels can help with predator protection,
more often they are just speed bumps on the way to the buffet.
Tho I guess that can be considered 'help/protection'.

Yes, they are pretty...and that's fine, unless the plethora of problems they can cause start to outweigh the eye candy factor. Pretty is as pretty does

But then my birds are completely confined and for food not pets,
not that I don't enjoy looking at them and observing their behaviors.

 

[FortCluck]

From what I understand as a beginner chicken owner, fertilized eggs are okay to eat, but need to be refrigerated right away, which decreases the shelf life, because they can apparently be kept longer if they are just left alone after you harvest them and before you refrigerate them to extend shelf life. I was going to sell the eggs and I was relying on having a longer shelf life to be able to sell them all

Eggs last quite a while when you refrigerate them... They last up to 6 months if you refrigerate them when fresh. Fresh eggs on the counter only last four to five weeks.

 

[FortCluck]

I'm sorry I must have said that wrong. What I meant was that I know that hens who lay eggs with no rooster present, the eggs can be stored inside at room temp for quite awhile as long as they are unwashed. I just wondered if it worked the same for fertilized eggs. I have been reading it would be the same as long as eggs are harvested daily and never had the chance to develop. Is that true?

usually people leave their eggs out for 7 days before they incubate them so I've never left my fertilized eggs on the counter. I refrigerate them so that they don't develop anything

 

[aart]

usually people leave their eggs out for 7 days before they incubate them

7 days is the average 'limit' for age of eggs for hatching.
Any older than 7 days and they can start to lose viability.

 

[FortCluck]

7 days is the average 'limit' for age of eggs for hatching.
Any older than 7 days and they can start to lose viability.

That's what I meant... Up to 7 days. I'm not fully with it today.

 

[bobbi-j]

usually people leave their eggs out for 7 days before they incubate them so I've never left my fertilized eggs on the counter. I refrigerate them so that they don't develop anything

As others have said - they won’t develop anything sitting on the countertop unless the conditions are right.