Male for them to lay eggs?

[I_AmPairPair]

I have what are three suspected EE pullets. When I first got them my cousin who at the time had two pullets and a male turkey told me that you needed a male bird to come around your pullets before they start laying. Is this true? I want to know before he brings over his turkey since it is aggressive and I hope to not let it near my chicks.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Nope nope nope... not at all true

 

[NorthTexasWink]

No, you do NOT need any male to get eggs. Only if you want fertilized eggs do you need a male of the same species. Tell your cousin you aren't buying what he's selling.

 

[lazy gardener]

Your cousin failed Biology 101, and Sex Ed for poultry.

 

[MommaHen2Many]

oh my! First I want to say there are no "dumb" questions!!! some of us know answers some of us don't. I applaud you for asking your question here! However i think you were given some bad chicken advice... First off, I would not introduce a mean turkey to your flock for any reason, or "other" birds not knowing their health--it could compromise your flock. Bugs, parasites etc.

Here is some basic biology....females drop eggs,.... depends on the species what the "egg" looks like . Chickens drop "eggs" that some of us choose to eat. If you introduce a Male of the species and allow mating--you hopefully get a "fertilization" of the egg. If you think about chickens....the typical "store bought egg", is not fertilized as they are never exposed to a rooster. If you DO NOT have a rooster you will NEVER have fertilized eggs from your chickens...but you will get eggs! A fertilized egg is the only way you can hatch baby chicks from your eggs--the chickens must mate. The non-fertilized eggs, will never produce baby chicks. So when will your chicken start laying....it is the "maturity" of the pullet (young teenage girl chicken) that will determine if she is "grown up" enough to drop an egg. Most of the time this depends on age, breed & health of the bird! So what age & breed do you have? this will help folks on here, determine when you "should" begin to see them interested in laying.

 

[The Moonshiner]

No you don't need a male around to get eggs.
Even if you did a male of a different species wouldnt do you any good.
I have had male turkeys try to breed chicken hens and even kill them especially if there's no hen turkeys around.
Another side note. It is my opinion that some hens lay better without a rooster around.
I raise different breeds and in the spring I separate the hens for a few weeks to clean out their system before putting them in their breeding groups. Most times I noticed their production drops some after I add the roosters. I think the stress of the rooster and breeding causes some stress and that in turn lessens their rate of lay a bit.