No crowing needed for hens to lay eggs

September 23, 2012 12:10 am

I had to chuckle to myself when I read Robert E. Gill's letter recently ["Let cocks crow in already-awake Spotsylvania"]. Being a chicken owner myself, I appreciate his apparent support of subdivision chickens in Spotsylvania County. Yet the information from his grandmother about needing a rooster "to have hens laying on a regular basis" is incorrect.

Hens will lay eggs just fine without the presence of a rooster in the hen house. You only need a rooster in the mix if you want hens to lay fertilized eggs.

When I started keeping hens almost five years ago, I was surprised by the number of people who did not know this. Perhaps this information will allow some folks to re-examine their thoughts about this issue if they know that roosters don't need to be present for a neighbor to have fresh eggs.

Nora Wilson-Lesser

Spotsylvania