People who plan to raise chickens are interested in whether a chicken can lay eggs without a rooster. This is a rather complex question that baffles even some poultry farmers. To answer it, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of laying eggs and mating chickens.
Why do laying hens need a male?
Experienced chicken breeders recommend having at least one rooster for every fifteen birds. This is done so that the herd feels better and does not create stressful situations.If there is a rooster in the chicken coop, the hens will lay eggs better and get sick less often. One rooster is enough to fertilize 15-20 young chickens. Some people have several roosters, but this should not be done. A large number of male birds has a negative impact on the health of chickens.
There are also several factors against keeping females with roosters:
- Increased irritability. If a rooster is too active, it will begin to attack the birds, which increases the irritability of the flock.
- Rowdy. Sometimes poultry farmers release fighters into the flock of birds, which disturb and even trample the laying hens. Due to such aggressive actions, they not only develop wounds, but also develop infectious diseases.
- Deterioration in egg production. There are cases when, after rowdy roosters appear, hens begin to lay eggs worse. This happens if you chase birds too often and expose them to stressful situations.
Does a hen need a rooster to lay eggs?
Many people wonder whether chickens will lay eggs if there are no roosters in the chicken coop. Every person who plans to breed birds in the future should know the answer to this question.
A healthy chicken continuously produces eggs in its body, and this does not depend in any way on the presence of roosters in the flock. It is much more important that the chicken eats properly every day and gets enough nutrients. This is enough to carry eggs.
Therefore, it is not necessary to keep birds other than chickens in the coop.
Most farms that professionally raise chickens and sell eggs do not keep roosters in their flocks. However, on this issue, the opinions of many poultry farmers and farmers differ.Some advocate that males should not be kept in the chicken coop, as they adversely affect the health of females and impair the taste of the testicles.
Others, on the contrary, advocate the need to raise males together with females, since in this case the resulting eggs will be much tastier. However, no study has yet scientifically confirmed this statement.
How does mating occur in birds?
Beginning poultry keepers must understand the basic nuances of bird mating.
Sexual activity in chickens begins in mid-spring. Therefore, in March, it is recommended to prepare nests in advance in which females can hatch chicks. First, there is a period of courtship with females, after which the mating process begins. The hens then lay fertilized eggs, which they hatch in prepared nests. The number of testicles directly depends on the breed of chickens.
It is possible to determine that birds have become sexually active by looking at the plumage of the roosters. Their feathers gradually change to new ones that have a brighter color. The behavior of birds also changes, they become more active to attract attention.
During sexual intercourse, the sperm of males penetrates the ovaries, after which they are fertilized. It is very important that mating takes place during the mating season, when the number of testes of roosters increases hundreds of times. After sexual intercourse, a fertilized egg will form within 10-14 hours.
What are the benefits of a rooster in a chicken coop?
Some people believe that males in the coop are only needed to fertilize the hens, but this is not true. They may also be needed to achieve other, no less useful goals, which include the following:
- Organization of management in the chicken coop. Many poultry farmers use roosters as managers. They can make sure that the females in the chicken flock are well-fed, do not experience discomfort, and follow the correct schedule.
- Observing the process of laying eggs. Not all poultry farmers know that males help inexperienced females lay eggs. They can indicate places where to rush. Therefore, sometimes cockerels act as mentors for young hens and help them adapt to the chicken coop.
- Protection of the flock. Particularly lively males act as the leader of the pack and protect females from various dangers. They can protect chickens from predators and even people. That is why sometimes there are cases when roosters suddenly attack a person or pets.
Disadvantages of keeping hens with roosters
Sometimes poultry farmers refuse to keep males in chicken coops. Most often, this decision is associated with problems that may arise if chickens and cockerels are kept in the same room. The disadvantages of keeping birds together include the following:
- Manifestation of aggression. The most aggressive males attack not only predators, but also chickens. Therefore, the rooster for the chicken coop must be selected very carefully.
- Deteriorated laying of testicles. Sometimes, keeping males together with hens reduces the number of eggs laid per day.
- Changing the appearance of chickens. Females that live separately from males look much better. If they are kept in the same room, males may periodically trample females, which negatively affects their appearance.
- Constant desire to raise chickens. When hens lay fertilized eggs, they incubate them continuously and often occupy nests. This prevents other chickens from laying eggs.
Therefore, in order to avoid encountering the problems listed above, experienced poultry farmers do not advise keeping females and roosters in the same chicken coop for a long time.
Differences between a fertilized egg and an unfertilized one
It is necessary to understand in advance whether there are differences between fertilized and unfertilized eggs.
It is a popular belief that testicles fertilized by a rooster are much healthier than unfertilized ones, since they contain more nutritional components. However, this statement is erroneous, and there are no noticeable differences between them. At the stage of development in which humans eat eggs, they do not differ in nutritional composition. They contain the same amount of useful microelements and vitamins.
The only difference is that fertilized eggs contain an undeveloped embryo. Because of this, some people refuse to eat them, justifying their decision on humanitarian grounds.
How many roosters do hens need?
People who want to keep hens with males must determine the optimal number of roosters for the coop.
Experts do not advise keeping too many males in a herd, as this negatively affects egg production. In order for chickens to lay a sufficient number of eggs, you need to keep no more than 2-3 roosters. At the same time, in order to determine the exact number, it is necessary to count the females in the chicken coop.
If there are less than ten of them, one male will be enough. However, when there are too many chickens, you will have to get more roosters. They will not only fertilize the females, but also keep order.
Conclusion
Beginning farmers do not know whether it is necessary to keep chickens together with roosters. To answer this question, you need to find out why hens and males are kept together.You will also have to become familiar with the peculiarities of mating birds and determine in advance the advantages and disadvantages of keeping cockerels and hens together. The information obtained will help you understand whether hens can lay eggs without males or not.
