Well, the story of Chocolate is back to sweet

[wrldlygrrl]

So, my EE cockerel was supposed to have a new home yesterday, but the guy was a no-show....all things happen for a reason, right? So, everyone keeps telling me I should have at least one roo...I have 8 pullets/hens...and live just outside the city. I am not sure if his crowing (he just began practicing yesterday) will really bother anyone.
The other thing: I have a coop and a detached, covered with wire run. Right now, I keep older hens that are laying in the run (with a nesting box), as they are newer to the flock and mature. Everyone else stays in the coop for now...and occasionally I will split the run in half with some wire and let the others out of the coop to forage. I just can't watch the neck pecking...and suppose I will continue this until the rest of the flock, 8-17 weeks, matures, and they can all defend themselves.
So, the alpha hen and Chocolate, the cockerel, face off across that wire all the time.
Do I need a roo, when all I really want is eggs? I don't see them going to free range, as I have so many beautiful, hungry looking hawks hovering over the property all the time.

 

[klmclain1]

You don't need a roo. I have 8 hens and they do just fine without one!

 

[Happy Chooks]

No you don't have to have a rooster. But if you decide later you want to free range them, the rooster will look out for and warn the hens of threats. (they are great at spotting hawks)

 

[wrldlygrrl]

So, I guess the next natural question is: will all of my eggs be fertilized?

 

[Blue]

Most likely, but fertilized eggs taste exactly the same as unfertilized eggs. Then, if you ever decide you want to hatch your own chicks, you'll have the option since you will have fertile eggs.

 

[wrldlygrrl]

Do all fertilized eggs have blood spots in them?

 

[Blue]

Quote:
Nope. We eat fertile eggs all the time from our chickens, and I've never even seen a blood spot (and we've had chickens for years, so I'm assuming blood spots are not all that common). The only reason I can tell they're fertile is because of the little white bullseyes in the yolks. Other than that, our eggs look and taste just like unfertilized ones.

 

[wrldlygrrl]

Will any fertilized egg attempt to grow a chicken, or do they have to be incubated? My mom mentioned candling the eggs. Do you refrigerate to inhibit chick growth?

 

[greenSearcher]

Refrigeration does prevent development, usually once the eggs have been in the fridge, hatching is not particularly successful, though I have heard of folks that bought fertile eggs and hatched them out. By frequent collection of your eggs, and immediately refrigerating them you should not have a partially formed chick surprise you. I have been doing this for all of two years, have had roosters the whole time, and most of the time I couldn't see a difference between the fertile and unfertile eggs. When I finally did incubate them, 2 out of 25 weren't fertile, and 19 of them hatched successfully. So, if you have roosters, you will probably have fertile eggs but will never know. I have seen small blood spots rarely, usually when the pullets are first laying. I just scoop it out w/ a piece of shell. I only candle eggs, which is shining an intense light into the eggs to see if their is any development, or the stage of development, when hatching them.

 

[wrldlygrrl]

Quote:
Thanks...I'm gettin' smarter by the minute here!!!