Laying Mash???

[whitlockj85]

I think I know the answer to this question, but recently I have heard different. Do hens require a special "laying" mash to produce eggs

? A family member said that if I wasn't going to have a rooster then I needed to get some feed that was artificially insemenated

. I felt like I scoured BYC and never found anything to support that. Can someone please clarify for me?

 

[groundpecker]

You can go to your local feed store and buy "laying pellets". There is no feed that can artificially insemenate eggs.
Hens do not need a rooster to produce eggs and a rooster does not need hens to live.
I do believe hens and roosters are happier together.

 

[Chicks on DL]

There is a lot of information on this site about making laying mash. Personally, between working full-time and taking care of children I just don't have the time. I do feed them the stuff left over from making chicken broth, leftovers from dinner (they seem to like fish much whick is surprising). NO, absolutely not, you do not need a rooster. Mine have not seen a rooster and still lay. Seems to be a common misconception amoung non-chicken people.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Layer feed, in whatever "shape" you buy it, all starts as ground feed. It is then left coarse as "mash", made into "crumbles" or pelletized.
Layer feed, in whatever form, does not MAKE a hen lay. It merely provides a full ration and diet of nutrients for a hen that IS laying.

That said, a rooster doesn't make hens lay anymore than a woman needs a man to have her monthly cycle. A rooster provides the sperm to make the eggs fertile, if reproduction is desired.

Some of the ignorance of basic 5th grade biology that exists out there is rather astounding.