new with roos

[cami]

if u have experience or just know about roos plz help.
i just got a 5 1/2 week old silkie roo i need to know as much as i can about taking care of him and his hens.
i need INFERTILE eggs (im vegetarian and i refuse to eat a fertile egg.....unless im absolutely sure one of my hens wont go broody

help chose the best choice please:

1.have a separate pen for the roo and 2 or 3 hens

2.have a separate pen for him and 2 or 3 girls but sith them out with my other hens (i have 5)

3.fix the roo (which i dont really wanna do i want chickys

)

4.give the roo away

but he is my favorite

5. other suggestions?.........

 

[Mrs. K]

To each his own way, but a fertilized egg will not develop unless placed in the right environment. So eating a fertilized egg, until a hen goes broody, is not going to hurt anything. I mean if you don't eat it, you will just have to throw it away, cause after about 7 days, it is not going to be viable anyway. Maybe that would work, just don't eat a fertilized egg until it was past 7 days old?

Keeping your hens separate from the rooster kind of defeats the purpose of having a rooster, I think? I mean he can't protect them, or be the leader of the flock. Plus, I think that you need to have a rooster around and 'active' so that you do have fertilized eggs ready to go, when you do get a broody hen. And if you keep him separate from the flock, then when you introduce him into the flock, you get a bunch of fighting and upset.

I guess, I understand your stance, you have a right to raise your chickens they way you want and eat what you want, but I think a flock is happier together.

Mrs.K

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Why not eat a fertile egg? There's no more meat in a fertile egg than a non-fertile.

 

[elmo]

Collect the eggs every day and refrigerate. There is no embryo development in a fertilized egg until a hen begins to incubate it continuously (or it goes into an artificial incubator).

 

[cami]

is there anything special i should know about the roo though? or should i just treat him like i treat my hens?
and is there anything special i should know about broody hens? besides the whole sitting on eggs most of the day and being kinda grouchy?
do you recommended chicken saddles?