Do Chickens Need A Rooster To Mate? Boggles the mind

[t0od0pe4u 0]

Ok. Me and the Mrs. have been boggled by this, and i swear...i can google it or ask yahoo answers..but a discussion is always fun..besides..I can earn some credits! Biologically speaking, a male needs to fertilize a female in order to reproduce, right?But when you see any tv shows or ads with a chicken coup.....their just chickens laying eggs in a barn, sitting side by side, laying eggs that go down the chute into a basket to be collected at the end of the day.Where's the rooster? I would think thats why a rooster's sub-name is a *BLEEP*, right?So me and the mrs. were laughing all night.Any thoughts?

[galexcd 0]

I'm not sure if this applies to roosters, however some birds are able to lay eggs without a male, however, of course the eggs they lay have no offspring in them. However I am not a veterinarian, so I really have no idea how this is possible, or if this is how the hens that lay eggs for humans to eat. Interesting point though, I never quite thought of that before.

[BuffaloHelp 24]

Biologically speaking, a male needs to fertilize a female in order to reproduce, right?

Well, technically speaking it's a female needing a male to fertilize...

But when you see any tv shows or ads with a chicken coup.....their just chickens laying eggs in a barn, sitting side by side, laying eggs that go down the chute into a basket to be collected at the end of the day.

In a nutshell (eggshell rather) a rooster is needed only to produce chick(s). Chicken FAQ But chickens lay eggs only once a day, up to 7 times a week Laying an egg.

I suppose the process is similar to human female dropping an egg during her biological cycle.

[shadowx 0]

I suppose the process is similar to human female dropping an egg during her biological cycle.

Exactly, the eggs we eat are not fertile, some free range eggs can be accidentally fertile if the farmer has a *BLEEP* (no pun intended )

We were talking about this in another thread too. Chickens lay eggs constantly, whether they have sex or not.

But this is not reproduction as the eggs are infertile.

[t0od0pe4u 0]

Exactly, the eggs we eat are not fertile, some free range eggs can be accidentally fertile if the farmer has a *BLEEP* (no pun intended )
We were talking about this in another thread too. Chickens lay eggs constantly, whether they have sex or not.

But this is not reproduction as the eggs are infertile.

Well....lets just say the eggs are infertile, which means the female has the inability to reproduce. But if you let the eggs be, it'll hatch to a chick, then eventually another chicken!

Some crazy birds, I tell you....

I mean, there are other birds that require a male to reproduce, but not the chicken!

[mrdee 1]

Well....lets just say the eggs are infertile, which means the female has the inability to reproduce.

That is not really true, is it?
The female does have the ability to reproduce, but if no male fertilises the eggs, obviously they are not going to hatch into chicks, regardless of the female being fertile or not.

But if you let the eggs be, it'll hatch to a chick, then eventually another chicken!
Some crazy birds, I tell you....

I mean, there are other birds that require a male to reproduce, but not the chicken!

Not really sure what you mean here, saying 'if you let the eggs be...', but, as said before, whether you let them be, or touch them, or sit on them for months in order to help them hatch (That is if you can stand the stench they will start producing after a few weeks), they WILL NOT hatch unless they are fertile.

They might well be crazy birds, but in that respect they are no different from us.
No contact between a male and a female means no offspring.
But I guess you knew that, I assume you were not bred in a bottle.

[t0od0pe4u 0]

Hilarious! I finally decided to google it.men produce spermwomen produce eggsThe eggs we buy at the market from hens are the eggs produced just like any female would.Darn...and i was hoping to hatch an egg bought from the supermarket... Where's Mr. Wizard when you need him?

[shadowx 0]

Exactly, im sure we are all educated in the ways of a woman's menstrual cycle. When they have their period (i assume its still called that in the states, its "that time of the month" as well all know it by) the womans body is simply chucking out an egg that didnt get fertilized, the blood is simply the lining of the womb which helps the baby grow, of course the egg is too small to see. Chickens of course dont give birth to live babies and hence dont have the blood lining, so when they have a "period" they just chuck out, or lay, an egg. so what you are eating on toast is a chicken's period. Hopefully we have cleared this up now! There are a lot of people that get confused by this! When a hen lays an egg with no male involved, it is NOT reproduction, for that egg is simply infertile, it can only be reproduction when a male IS involved, as those eggs will likely hatch.

[dimumurray 0]

so what you are eating on toast is a chicken's period.

After the mental picture you've just inspired with that comment I doubt if I'll ever see eggs the same way again. Edited August 25, 2008 by dimumurray (see edit history)

[shadowx 0]

Hahahahaha i dont blame you! But eggs and pepper are damn good! But remember to always buy free range eggs! None of this battery or caged hen crap, not good for anyone!When you think where our food comes from it makes you think twice, i mean some people wouldnt cook a sausage if it fell on the floor, despite the sausage is full of tendons, fat and meat that all came from a smelly cow, covered in bacteria, poo, dirt and insects.... Or bread... the get some seeds from a field, crush them and then you eat them, yet we would be reluctant to eat bread that we hadd left outside for even an hour, even if we toasted it!We are weird creatures!

[jopak134 0]

they don't need to mate but they are there for support

[t0od0pe4u 0]

Roosters have such a great nickname.

[AbdurahmanL 0]

I think that Hens can lay eggs without roosters, but those are basically eggs for eating, cause they will never hatch, cause they were never fertilized. I think a rooster, or as it is named in some places, a *BLEEP*, needs to be there so that the hen will actually make an egg that will hatch a chick. At least that's what I understand.

[sheepdog 10]

so what you are eating on toast is a chicken's period.

Oh Lordy!

NO, not even!!!

It is the ovum. Menstral flow is the human female end of cycle cleaning and flushing of the blood that accumilated in the event that her ovum was fertilized.

 

Chicken Biology 101

 

The chicken egg is the ovum. Chickens produce these for a certain part of the year on nearly a daily basis. No rooster nessary. Just like a female human will produce one ovum per month, she does not have to have a man around to ovulate.

If a rooster is present, he can breed the hen once, and she will store the sperm cells for quite some time, fertilizing her eggs as they are formed. Only fertile eggs will hatch. Store bought eggs are not fertile. The general buying public would be upset with even a freshly fertilized egg, they would see the little round dot forming in the egg, and since they are not used to seeing fertile eggs, would probably freak out and think the eggs were bad. Egg farmers have no need to feed the rooster who is not producing a saleable product. (eggs.) A rooster would be a waste of space and feed. And would produce a product that the general pupblic would not appreciate.

[iGuest 3]

Reply to "Do chickens need a rooster to mate?"Do Chickens Need A Rooster To Mate?

Chickens do NOT need a rooster to lay eggs.  Chickens lay eggs (ovulate) without any fertilization whatsoever. These eggs are unfertilized, and are the type that we most commonly eat. However, chickens DO need a rooster to"mate."  The rooster "covers" the hen and passes sperm to her, and then she lays fertilized eggs that could hatch into new chicks.  Want eggs to eat?  Have hens.  Want to hatch those eggs to make more chickens?  Need a rooster to fertilize the eggs.

-reply by Sinclair