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30 May 2007
Stupid nature question: Do you need a rooster to get an egg from a hen?→[More:] It really seems like you would, but it also seems slightly possible that some eggs could be unfertilized (maybe?).
Hens lay eggs with or without roosters around. You only need a rooster for fertilizing. None of the eggs that hens lay will produce chicks unless a rooster's around - they'll all be edible. Are you getting some hens? My parents had a roost for a while...it was awesome. I've thought about having some hens myself. They're fun, and relatively quiet. It's the rooster who makes all the racket.
Hens are happier if there's a rooster around, by the way. One rooster for every 3/4 hens.
People always ask whether my hens can have chicks without a rooster. It used to make me laugh, but it's an incredibly common question.
One way to look at it is that most female animals (including women people) ovulate whether a male is around or not. Takes the male to fertilize the egg. Birds are no different.
As for going broody -- broody hens are a pain in the ass to deal with. There's a reason that the word has come to mean sullen or pensive when applied to people.
There was a recent article about a virgin birth by a shark. Baby shark only lived a few hours but DNA tests showed only female DNA. Sadly it was attacked by a jealous octopus.
photo by splunge
photo by TheophileEscargot
photo by Kronos_to_Earth
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