Possibly dumb question about roosters and eggs.

Kessel23

Hi Bug
7 Years
Feb 6, 2018
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Wisconsin
So I read somewhere that a rooster can help prevent salmonella in eggs... I think that sounds pretty unrealistic but I was wondering if it was true. Also, if it is true then how does it work, how does a rooster prevent salmonella? The main reason I don't believe it's true is because I have like 20 roosters and just got salmonella 2 weeks ago, I need to learn to wash my hands more :lol:
 
There are no dumb questions and you are right. That is pretty unrealistic. In fact it is impossible and there is no biological process that could cause a rooster to miraculously rid a flock or eggs of salmonella. The presence of his semen in the sperm storage sites of the infundibulum merely fertilize the blastodisc on the yolk. Rooster semen doesn't contain antibiotics.
I'm curious where you heard that.
 
Yeah that's what I thought, a lot of people seemed to believe the person though and he got a lot of likes, it was on YouTube btw, and I did not see anyone correct him so I thought maybe it could be true :lol: good thing I asked here, youtube can sometimes be ridiculous, I saw someone claim that you could tell what colored egg a chicken would lay based on it's feather color.
 
I understand. There is a lot of ridiculous information out there with no basis in fact.
An elderly lady (probably younger than me) who grew up on a farm and owns a produce market swears that brown eggs taste better than white eggs. With my best efforts, I couldn't convince her that the taste is dependent on what the chickens ate, not the breed or color of shell. Since all my birds have the same diet, I suggested that I bring her white, various shades of brown and green/olive eggs so she could do a taste test. She grew angry that I was challenging her long held assumption. I imagine her belief came from the free range birds that laid brown eggs when growing up and then comparing the taste to the white eggs they bought at the grocer.
The feather color/egg color thing is really funny. I could see how the unenlightened could possibly come to that conclusion. The primary production egg layers come from the very productive breeds of Leghorns, (like most Mediterranean breeds) lay white eggs and Rhode Island Reds (brown eggs). While the majority of Leghorns are white, there are at least nine other color varieties including Dark Brown, Light Brown, Buff, Black, Silver, Red, Black-Tailed Red, Columbian and Exchequer. A black or brown leghorn's eggs are just as big and white as a white leghorn's. Silver Leghorns don't lay silver eggs.
The egg shells of a White Empordanesa are just as intensely dark reddish maroon as those of a Black Penedesenca.
Feather color = shell color may have come from the partially true belief that shell color is related to ear lobe color.
I posted the following in another thread recently.

"While generally true, white lobes = white eggs, red lobes = brown eggs. There are deviations from that rule not as well known in addition to what we discussed above.
Blue egg layers have red lobes.
Appenzellers lay white egg and have bluish lobes.
Silkies lay tinted eggs and have turquoise lobes.
Yokohamas lay a tinted egg and have white lobes
Redcaps lay white eggs and have red lobes.
Phoenix lay white to tinted eggs but with red lobes.
Naked necks lay a very light creamy egg yet red lobes.
The, now thought to be extinct, breed of Lamona laid white eggs and had red lobes.
Fayoumis, tinted eggs, white lobes.
Crevecoeur and Dorking, white eggs, red lobes.
Sabelpoots, Japanese bantams, Nankins, Old English Games, Modern Games white eggs, red lobes.
Sebrights and Sumatras lay white eggs and have purplish combs."

Old wives' tales die hard.

Another thing I would caution people is to take advice from feed store employees with a grain of salt. They may know what medications and feeds the store carries, but they may not know how to best use them. I doubt any have been to vet school nor are they poultry nutritionists.
 
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