Exactly how do roosters fertilize the hens' eggs? Are the eggs fertilized before or after the hen lays them? Do roosters have penises? (so to speak). I am being sincere. This is a question that my mom and I have been wondering about for years. I grew up on a farm and helped butcher lots of chickens over the years. We never found any evidence of how it was done. If anyone can help shed some light on the subject, it would be greatly appriciated.

Phishes, Mating of chickens, if you have never seen it happen, can best be described as "just like cats." The rooster mounts the hen--who must "stoop" to take his weight. He holds her by the feathers on her neck just behind the head. The sex organs are very like other animals, just kept inside except for the very short time of mating. The sperm travels up the oviduct, where an egg is released every day or so, and one mating can leave enough sperm to fertilize each egg for up to a week or so. The egg travels back down, where it receives the egg-white and the various membranes, then last of all, the shell is deposited shortly before the hen lays her egg. Each egg takes a little more than 24 hours from release of mature ova to laying the egg, with most of the time being the last part--"white", membranes and shell. So each hen will lay a little later each day until she skips ovenight and starts laying early in the morning again. A good book, if you want pictures and lots more, is; A Guide to Better Hatching, available from most Poultry catalogs. This is stuff you really ought to know, if you are "into chickens"!! CJR

CJR, will the rooster mount the hen or hens frequently enough to be at least seen by some one in the family over the course of say a few weeks. We have one rooster unsure of which type and several hens one year and older (two black australorps, two product reds) and my three buff orpingtons are not old enough yet so I'm not to worried about them. My four hens have been laying eggs at which time I was letting them build them up but when a friend of mine who is heavy into falcons but knows a bunch more than me asked me if I had seen the rooster jump on their back and mate I ended up collecting the eggs unsure as to whether they would be fertile or not. I have had these hens going on two weeks now. One of my blacks got pretty pissed at me today when I came in to clean the coop because she was sitting on the nest. Several hours latter even though I know she had already laid the egg she was still sitting and became disturbed at me again. Not sure what to do about her because shes been that way all day and seems broody but she gets out of the nest when I come in so probably not since it doesn't seem to go with what I have read. Anyways, any information would be helpful. By the way I think I read one of your postings earlier about the chick noise situation. I have four two week old rocks, two black, two white that seemed to be quite chirpy. The guy I got them from yesterday didn't keep them under lights. Anyways, set up a light for some added warmth and they are much calmer now.

You may not see your rooster cover your hens. But if you have a rooster your eggs should mostly be fertile. It is said that the best time for fertile eggs is for the rooster (who often waits by the nest while his hen lays her egg) to cover the hen right after she leaves the nest after laying. Does the hen that sits on the nest have any eggs under her? If you want to hatch, you should date your eggs each day they are layed, keep them in egg cartons in a cool place--not fridge-then when your hen sets, give her the freshest eggs --not over 2 weeks old--enough for her to cover easily. The rest of the eggs will be fine to use, pop them in the fridge. Good luck, CJR

Thanks for the info CJR, I finally saw my rooster this morning do his thing. He seems focused on the red hens though and according to my son he mated the red birds several times over the weekend and yesterday as well. How cool of a place for the stored eggs. And yes she was sitting on three eggs so far. We have four nest boxes and two of them have three eggs each.

Brian, If you are just keeping the eggs for a few days to a week, the kitchen counter is fine (I usually take mine to the basement, which is just a tad cooler.) But do date those eggs. If you find an undated one in the nest, it is fresh and you don't want it with the eggs that are already started incubating. Eggs that are due to hatch at different times are rarely successful, as when the first ones hatch, a day is about all the hen can wait to get off the nest and take the babies to food. She has no clue about the other eggs. Collect your eggs every day--except those you have started under a hen--that is, a full clutch you want her to hatch. When Mother Nature (not the hen or you ) indicates to the hen--its time to set--she will, eggs or not--it is nothing a hen can control. When she is setting "tight" after a day or 2, put the number of eggs you want her to hatch under her--mark the calendar-21 days- they will all hatch at the same time--and you're in business! CJR

Thank you so much for the info. I had actually built a separate sitting room for one hen at a time away from the other nest just in case one become broody. How do I transfer the hen to that room once she starts to sit because I don't want to upset her. Also I had posted in one place that I was interested in knowing what kind of of incubator/ hatchery kit to get. Say if I wanted to hatch 12 to 20 birds at a time. Any suggestions that are reasonably priced would be appreciated. This truly is a wonderful site. I appreciate all the information so far.

Hoping your nest box is movable (I use cardboard boxes--and have to nail them to one wall so they are not upset--but depending on the shape of the box, I will cut a scoop out of the entrance side, so it is easy to get in and out, fill with grass hay or fine straw.) move your hen after dark and keep her new site somewhat darkened--she will feel more secure. She needs food and water nearby and room enough for that ghastly smelling big poop, which will let you know she was off the nest to feed. I remove it or at least kick it under the cedar shavings on the floor, so no more bad smell. When the hen has hatched, the cardboard box can be burned or dumped and a fresh one replaces it. I have a TurnX incubator, 29 bantam eggs, and use it for one or two hatches a year--the rest under hens. Price has gone up a lot since I got mine, but it is quite reliable--none of the small ones are without occasional problems. I also have an old Hovabator with automatic turner and fan, but I never had as good a percentage of successful hatch of fertile eggs- it is now just backup for temporary use. CJR

The nest boxes I have are out of the plastic old milk crates with sanded egdes and a scoop cut. They are freestanding on a movable holder with a cover about a foot off the ground. My fourth box is in the darker room I build as an addition but its easy to clean and get to. Right now I have hay covering the ground for the sitting room. I have several feeders and waters with two more coming so she will get her own when she broods.

This has all been very interesting. I just found out this morning that my big Aracauna is a rooster. He tried to crow this morning. I think the other five are hens. I feel bad because I didn't want to deal with chicks. I hope my neighbors don't get all upset because he crows. I'll find out soon. I hate to get rid of him he is so pretty. It might be fun to see how the chicks turn out. I live in town, but have a big yard for them to play. CJR, you have been so helpful on this site. I read your comments all the time. Thanks

I have 7 different types of hens, 5 of which are good layers. The other two are certain they are going to hatch the eggs in the nest, which they couldn't up til now because there wasn't a rooster in the vicinity. I bought a rooster who let the girls know whose boss right away. He is much smaller than my girls, though. Will he be able to fertilize their eggs? He tries, but I've never seen him on one for more than a second, and he's half way up her back because he's so small. How can I tell if any of the eggs the sitters are setting on are fertile or not? I'd hate to crack open a half formed chick...
Thanks
Mary

Mbickley, Surprisingly, a small rooster will get the hang of it and can mate successfully with larger hens. But the only way to know about fertile eggs prior to hatch time, is to "candle" the eggs that have been incubating under the hen for at least 4 days (white or cream shelled eggs--brown eggs are much harder to tell). Take an intense-light flashlight with front not too wide--after it is totally dark--and slip each egg out from under the hen and hold it on the end of the flashlight. Eggs not fertile will be clear, except for pale orange yolk which may appear as a "shadow". (take a fresh egg, never incubated, and use it for a comparison, so you will know how any infertile egg will appear.) A fertile egg that is developing will have a dark blob--red at 4 days, with red "spiderlike legs", which are the veins developing around the egg, then after 5-6 days and after, just a dark blob-the longer the incubation period, the larger the embryo will show, of the developing chick, until it fills the egg except for an air space at one end shortly before hatch. You may see movement of the embryo--exciting, really. It is wise to date your eggs in pencil, so if another hen lays in the nest of the setting hen, you can remove the fresh egg--best to take a setting hen, eggs, nest and all out of the coop where layers are still using nests. And place her in a darker quiet area, with food and water available until ready for her chicks. Good luck--and if these eggs are not fertile, take them all out--eventually the little rascal will be successful and you will have fertile eggs. CJR

Back to Phishes original question: if you've seen one chicken butt, you've seen them all. The difference is on the inside. Both male and female chickens have one exterior opening called a cloaca. When a rooster mounts a hen, he will tuck his tail under her's in what is romantically called the "cloacal kiss" (Hey, I learned this in college!) passing sperm to fertilize the egg (before the shell goes on!) And, to answer the most important question - no. Roosters do not have penises. No birds do. (But snakes do - how weird is that?!?)
Hope this helps.
liza
science teacher/chicken lover

I have a flock of 36 chickens. They are almost five months old now! Should I be seeing eggs pretty soon?
Also, when should I change the feed from the crumbles
to the layer mash? One more question. I am certain that I have five roosters and maybe even more, should I be concerned about this? They're begining to get a little mean (to each other and the hens). I would love to have some more baby chicks again but evey time one of the roosters trys to mate, the other roosters run him off!
Thank you,
Lori Wright

I'm confused. While in the health food store last week, I noticed that a particular poultry farm offered cartons of eggs that were "fertilized" and other cartons that were "unfertilized." What does that mean? I thought hens simply laid eggs then the rooster sprayed/put sperm on them inorder for fertilization to happen. How are some eggs fertilized and others not? Can a hen lay eggs without a rooster?

Valerie, If one has not grown up with animals, birds, plants, etc., it is not surprising that these very legitimate questions arise! Hens lay eggs naturally, when mature, at about 5 months of age, they begin to lay eggs. Roosters are only necessary if one wishes to have fertile eggs to hatch. Almost all eggs in the store are layed by hens that haven't a clue that a rooster even exists. Eggs which produce those laying hens are obtained from breeding farms, that keep hens and roosters just to produce "hatching eggs". These eggs are then hatched in enormous incubators by the 10000s. The pullets (females) are raised separately, sold to egg producers to be raised on, just to lay eggs, and some to be kept for breeding thenext generation. The cockerels (males) are raised separately, also. Some are kept for a new breeding flock, most are butchered when large enough, for pet food industry, or if of a "meat" breed, for the fast food or super markets. The rooster mates with hens similarly to the way cats breed, they mount and connect--no "spray". The Health food stores cater to the requests of their customers. Some people believe that a fertilized egg is better for you than an unfertilized egg. It may be an ethnic belief. I won't question anyone's thoughts about this. But for myself, knowing that the sperm (just 1) has not changed anything in the egg until incubation begins (and until an egg is incubated, the development is "on hold" for several weeks, then "dies") and we do not purchase eggs that have been started to develop, it is purely an individual thing--"rooster egg" or an egg never fertilized. And
cooking destroys anything viable in the egg, so what could possibly be the extra value of a fertilized egg? Further analysis would prove that all eggs produced by hens kept with roosters are not fertile. And there is NO WAY to determine if an egg is fertile until it has been incubated for about 4 days and is then considered not edible. The shell keeps its secret! That's about it! Glad you asked. CJR

Sorry to just jump in, but I've been reading all night and would really like to ask a couple questions. First, I'm very new at this "having chickens" thing - we moved out of the city and so I got three leghorn layers and two pretty but breed-unknown (by me, anyway) roosters at the feed store for small change because I wanted eggs and like the sound of roosters. I was wondering about your answer about fertile eggs being apparently no different than unfertilized eggs in nutritional value; I've had eggs from the farmers' market that are labeled 'Fertile' and have a little blood spot when I crack them into the fry pan. That never bothered me, but I gather from your earlier (and fantastically helpful - THANKS!) explanation of candling eggs that perhaps these are maybe 3-4 days "under the hen" before being refrigerated and sold to me? Is that then a more nutritious egg? or just gross to be eating a pre-formed chick? It wouldn't bother me, I just was wondering. And today I've gotten three hens that I was told are Old English hens and are supposed to be quite broody as a breed, so maybe I'll find out as soon as they start laying (the leghorns have just a couple days ago stopped laying and I suppose are starting a late molt because it has been very hot here in Southern California, USA, and the OE hens are young and not yet started laying even though they've just finished their molt). Sorry to be "off-topic" a bit, but why do the OEG hens not have any or very noticable combs? The guy said they were pea-combed, but is that normal?? Where could I look to find out? And I was considering getting Chickens In Your Backyard as a starter book, is that a good one?

Thanks for ALL the great info and sorry if this isn't the place to post these questions.

I just want to say that tonight, I learned every thing that I always wanted to know about chickens. Thank you all so much for taking the time to give such great answers!
My husband and I want to get some chickens to have eggs and get rid of tics in our yard. Any suggestions on the breed. We live in Central Virginia if weather makes a difference.
Thanks, Stacy

I have had laying hens for approx 2yrs now and have finally decided to get a rooster to increase my chicken population. I have read through some of the info here but have a few quick questions. As stated by some other individuals . . I have not seen my rosster mating with any of the hens . . . I have been collecting eggs daily (early evening) and placing them in the fridge assuming that they were not fertilized. I went out tonight to collect the eggs to find one of the hens sitting on the eggs in one of the laying boxing. I am assuming she is trying to hatch them . . . should I just leave the eggs in that box alone now or do I still collect them. I am assuming she will not sit there all day . . or will she (I know she has to come out and eat) but will she run back to the eggs when she see's me coming? It is also funny that the hen who is sitting on the eggs is the one who has been injured for a while now. One of her feet is hurt . . I think she may have fell off the perch wrong and now she has a limp. Any info would be appreciated . . . I don't want to take the eggs is she is trying to hatch them

I recently saw a message where someone is artifically inseminating their hens. I would like to know how this is done; and does anyone know of a school or class where this is taught? Thank you for your responses.
Larry

this may be a dumb question, i have been raising chickens for about 2 years now, but i don't know how old my rooster is because i bought him as an adult. how long or to what age is a rooster able to fertilize eggs? my hatch was very good last year (about 95% hatch), but so far this year i have incubated about 12 eggs and only have 4 hatch. the some of the others were not even fertile and some were developing and went bad. i incubated about 40 eggs last year and had 38 hatch and 37 live. how can i tell if i need a new rooster? can i put one of the roosters i hatch in or would it be better to get an unrelated rooster? any i hatch would be related as if brother to sister if that makes sense and helps. my hens are from last years hatch. help i am desperate!