Probably the dumbest question ever

[horsewishr]

I'm sure I know the answer already, but . . . In a batch of chicken eggs, do you generally get approximately equal numbers of male and female chicks?

I'd love the answer to be "no, you get far more hens," but I think I know better. I just can't figure out why nature's design would produce so many roos when only a few are needed.

And I want to hatch eggs--but I certainly don't need a rooster!

 

[joannamarie]

i was told by people not on here but elswhere that sometimes you can get loads of roosters in a batch more than half.
so i was worried when my bantam could only fit 3 hybrid eggs out of six under her 2 chicks were hens and 1 was a rooster and didnt hatch so i think that was pretty good odds dont know what other 3 were as i didnt have incubator.
some people think that it has something to do with the hen, and that certain hens tend to lean more towards hatching roosters and others hens dont know if this is true.

 

[Napalongtail]

Some hens do lean toward rooster chicks. I think breed can also be a factor. The production birds have been bred to produce way more females like in the production reds, others at least as far as I have observed like in my phoenix for instance. I need the males for tail growth because that's what sells them and I hatch out about 75% males each year. The pullets I hatch I rarely part with because I need those for the longtail genetics. Now the hatcheries will try and convince you that it is a 50%-50% split .

 

[jimnjay]

Remember in natures grand scheme of things, it does not follow that fewer roosters are needed. Chickens have been food for mankind for thousands of years. The roosters provide the meat and the hens provide the eggs for when meat is scarce. When people raise chickens on a farm for food, extra roosters are not a problem.