Laying hen/roo

[Tclow1518]

YES.

My flock is in my sig, below. We eat eggs most days. The Roosters (I need to cull more) have access tot he hens all the time. Only a tiny fraction of the eggs I eat aren't fertilized.

That said, give some thought to why you want a rooster - they aren't needed for most back yard flocks - and check your zoning, to ensure you are allowed to have a rooster.

And I collect three times a day, sometimes more. FDA allows a MUCH lower rate of collection. Every other day is fine. Not for ducks, and other ground laying birds, depending on your ground. (My clays are VERY good at defeating the bloom and causing contamination of my duck's eggs, leading to failed incubations - on of the reasons I collect so frequently.)

 

[Tclow1518]

I was looking into getting a few more hens and they come with a roo. Where I live you can have anything you want as I'm 25 kms from the nearest city

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I was looking into getting a few more hens and they come with a roo. Where I live you can have anything you want as I'm 25 kms from the nearest city

EXCELLENT choice. I too live some distance from "civilization".

How are your quarantine facilities for your new birds??? and after quarantine, you can arrange a "see and be seen" situation for around two weeks to ease integration?

 

[Tclow1518]

EXCELLENT choice. I too live some distance from "civilization".

How are your quarantine facilities for your new birds??? and after quarantine, you can arrange a "see and be seen" situation for around two weeks to ease integration?

I have a tractor that I use for quarantine and the introductions !

 

[Ridgerunner]

I was concerned about a relative cracking open an egg and getting a unwanted surprise.

Yeah, you don't want those. As long as you collect every day you won't get those, even if the fertile egg spends part of the day under a broody hen. Just collect every day.

But you can still get surprises. If you follow this link you can see some of them. Blood spots or meat spots aren't that unusual. People see these and think it has something to do with a rooster. Nope, not at all. Finding a roundworm in an egg is unusual but it can happen. You can read about them in this link.

Egg Quality Handbook

https://thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook

The commercial egg industry candles the eggs so they don't surprise their customers. They'll sell these eggs to somebody else, maybe for pet food. This is why it's always a good idea to crack our eggs in a separate bowl before putting them in something.

 

[Tclow1518]

Yeah, you don't want those. As long as you collect every day you won't get those, even if the fertile egg spends part of the day under a broody hen. Just collect every day.

But you can still get surprises. If you follow this link you can see some of them. Blood spots or meat spots aren't that unusual. People see these and think it has something to do with a rooster. Nope, not at all. Finding a roundworm in an egg is unusual but it can happen. You can read about them in this link.

Egg Quality Handbook

https://thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook

The commercial egg industry candles the eggs so they don't surprise their customers. They'll sell these eggs to somebody else, maybe for pet food. This is why it's always a good idea to crack our eggs in a separate bowl before putting them in something.

Thank you for the great info I appreciate it!!

 

[rascal66]

I was concerned about a relative cracking open an egg and getting a unwanted surprise.

I can assure you that as long as you are collecting eggs every day or at worst, every other day, you should have normal eggs to eat. (Been selling fertilized eggs for several years and never had some random developed egg slip in.)