Do Chickens Need A Rooster To Mate? Boggles the mind

[Evolke 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?

Chicken Eggs are exactly that- eggs. Basically they are the chickens period. Without the males sperm to fertilize the egg no chick will develope within the egg, however, just like us humans the egg will still leave the chickens body through menstrual cycle.

[cyber_electrons 0]

How about GM chickens? They are modified such that they lay eggs etc...BUt I don't think so if the eggs gives the next generation... They have to be fertilized, so if offspring is require, a male is necessary.Females can have offsprings without a male btw. I forgot the details but I think it is possible.

[kleong 0]

If you take a look at the farm, you will realise that the number of chickens outnumbered the rooster. The role of the rooster is basically to fertiliser the egg and nothing else. As for the chickens, they will lay eggs and maybe a few will be fertiliser by the rooster just to ensure the next "generation".

[iGuest 3]

Hens & RoostersDo Chickens Need A Rooster To Mate?Replying to kleongLet me get this straight... If I have a hen and a rooster and they mate, there will be offspring. If a hen never mates with a rooster, the hen can still lay eggs that are eatable and will not produce baby chicks correct?-reply by Peggy