In today's poultry industry, novice farmers are confronted with many stereotypes and established claims. One of the most common of them can be attributed the vital role of roosters to ensure the economy has a long and uninterrupted egg production. Despite the fact that science has long ago given an answer to the question of whether a chicken without a rooster will be carried, many still often ask him again and again. Today we will examine in detail the basic physiological characteristics of the formation of eggs in chickens, and also tell whether the frequency of mating with a rooster affects this process.

Do laying hens need a cock?

The rooster is an inseparable part of poultry farming, which is imprinted not only in traditions, but also in folklore. The male of the chicken family is quite bright and extraordinary, so most home farm owners cannot imagine their farm without this feathered.

Did you know? Industrial poultry farming arose at the end of the 18th century in England, France and Holland. It was at this time that large enterprises first appeared, engaged not only in breeding, but also in breeding highly productive chicken.

However, it may not be economically feasible to get a rooster, therefore, when raising chickens, many people wonder if chickens need males to lay eggs, and whether laying hens can do without them for a long time.

Content Benefits

• The main benefit of keeping a rooster is that it:
• provides discipline - the presence of a male in the chicken coop has a positive effect on the behavior of laying hens, they become calmer, more humble. In addition, the rooster makes sure that there are no conflicts between layers, and that water and food are equally divided between the whole population;
• eliminates external threats - roosters protect the chicken coop from small predators, rodents during their unauthorized entry into the chicken coop;
• promotes herd rejuvenation - without a rooster, full reproduction of chickens is impossible;
• improves egg quality - with periodic mating of laying hens in eggs, nutrition, aromatic and taste properties increase;
• improves aesthetics - Often males are much prettier than females, so such pets will definitely please the eye.

Cons Cons

• The main disadvantages of keeping a rooster in a herd are as follows:
• aggravated maternal instinct of laying hens - after mating, almost all eggs become fertilized, therefore, instead of producing new ones, the hens remain in the nest for hatching offspring. In this case, not only does their aggression increase during the collection of eggs, but also the egg production sharply decreases;
• its existence is necessarily accompanied by inappropriate replenishment of the herd. Due to this, the age structure of the chicken coop changes dramatically, which is fraught with uneven productivity for the farm;
• he is aggressive towards man - often the rooster perceives the farmer as a threat to the chicken coop, therefore, often purposefully injures him;
• during mating, the cock often pulls feathers off the chickens and causes injuries, which is detrimental to their appearance.

Important! Roosters require additional maintenance costs, including quality food. This must be taken into account when assessing the rationality of their maintenance on the farm.

Do chickens rush without roosters?

Oddly enough, but even today, many summer residents and farmers breed roosters in order to provide the laying hens with a long and productive period of egg laying. However, few people know that a chicken can trot without the participation of a rooster.The egg is primarily a natural mechanism that helps birds protect their eggs from external factors. It is a sealed container in which the laying organism retains its genetic material, regardless of the number of mating with the male.

At the same time, there are significant differences between the eggs formed with and without a rooster. In the absence of a male in the population, chickens give the so-called unfertilized eggs. They carry in themselves the genetic material of only one laying hen, and therefore are not capable of further developing into chicks.

If the rooster mates actively with the laying hens, they produce fertilized eggs. They contain the genetic material of two individuals, so that under optimal conditions they can develop to a full-fledged chick.

In appearance and consistency between these eggs there is no significant difference, however, they have different nutritional values. Non-fertilized are considered more dietary and easier for the body, while in the fertilized, there is an increased content of proteins, fats and other valuable energy substances, as well as trace elements.

Therefore, in many recipes of traditional medicine, such a product is used as a universal medicine.

Did you know? To distinguish between a fertilized egg and a non-fertilized egg, just illuminate it with a table lamp. On the yolk of the fertilized eggs, small specks with a diameter of about 0.5 cm - dividing embryonic cells will be visible.

Chicken body structure

The structure of the feathered organism is quite unique among animals. Birds are representatives of a small group of higher animals, in which the development of offspring from a fertilized egg takes place outside the mother's body. For most ordinary people it remains a mystery why this happens and why it is needed.In fact, this is one of the most successful adaptive characteristics of the body.

This feature helps to reduce the burden on the body of birds, which removes the vulnerability that arises in other female individuals during pregnancy. As a result, it became possible to save the population from many predators, as well as to prevent the extermination of defenseless pregnant females.

For this, the bird's body has formed a rather specific breeding system, which provides for the existence of a protective formation around an egg cell, tender and unprepared for harsh environmental conditions, - an egg shell.

Consider how a chicken lays eggs.

Often the process is divided into several successive stages:

1. Egg maturation - In the ovaries, the growth and development of the egg is observed. Basically, the process lasts for several days, but individual eggs can form several years. In chickens, several eggs can mature at the same time, but their further development takes place in turn.
2. The formation around the egg yolk - the period lasts about 2-3 days, during which yolk compounds appear over the female cell, forming a protective membrane. The phase of abrupt egg growth, which lasts 7–10 days, precedes the stage. At this time, the flow of nutrients into the reproductive system zone sharply increases in the laying hen's body, due to which the yolk stores the necessary nutrients.
3. The formation of protein around the egg - the phase lasts for several tens of minutes. After maturation, the egg with the yolk is separated from the ovaries and moved to the funnel of the oviduct, where protein formation foules.
4. Shell formation - from the oviduct, the future egg moves into the vagina, where it grows in the shell. The phase often lasts for 10-15 minutes, after which the egg can be safely pushed out.

If, during the development of an egg in chickens, mating with a male occurs, an intermediate phase, the so-called fertilization, takes place before growing over the egg yolk. In this case, the general hormonal background of the body increases in chickens, which causes an additional blood flow to the ovaries and the reproductive system as a whole.

Due to this, an additional amount of important substances is accumulated in the eggs necessary for further cell division, formation and development of the embryo.

Factors Affecting Egg Laying

So, we have already found out that in order to provide the chickens with egg laying, they do not need a rooster in the chicken coop at all. But every farmer must know all sorts of reasons that affect the productivity of laying hens.

The most important factors are:

• breed direction - only highly specialized egg breeds can produce about 300 eggs per year;
• conditions of detention - the more favorable the microclimate created in the chicken coop, the more productive the birds will be;
• ration - The formation of eggs requires huge energy and nutrients from the body of chickens, so the diet of laying hens should be rich not only in energy compounds, but also balanced by vitamins and minerals;
• vitality - chickens should move well and stay in the fresh air, this helps to accumulate vitamin D in the body, as well as eliminate the stress caused by laying eggs. And this has a positive effect on their future productivity;
• sanitary conditions in the chicken coop - A dirty room with uncleaned feeders becomes a source of various infections, which chickens spend all their energy on fighting. This not only reduces their egg production, but also leads to the development of a variety of diseases, including complex chronic ailments;
• hen age - As you know, the most productive period in chickens is observed in the first 1-2 years of life, therefore, in order to ensure uninterrupted productivity of the chicken coop, the livestock should be periodically rejuvenated.

For successful and long-term productivity, laying hens absolutely do not need a rooster, so most large farmers have long abandoned them. However, if you keep chickens in a small herd, then you can’t do without a male.

Important! If you still decide to buy roosters for your chicken coop, you need to remember that on average there should be about 10 laying hens per one. In case of neglect of the rule, there may be ineffective work of the roosters in the herd or fierce competition between males.

The rooster will help protect the hens from all sorts of threats and ensure order in the chicken coop, and with appropriate care for the herd, increase the productivity of hens.