Re: RC: Horses, Chickens, & Diseases

[Lynn Kinsky <lkinsky@silcom.com>]

>One other thing. Does there have to be a rooster for a hen to have chicks??
>There aren't any roosters at my barn. Luckily the coyotes/foxes got the
>rooster before the chicks were born in April and as far as I can tell, they
>were all hens.
>
>Thanks! Kati Walker

Chicks come from fertile eggs -- ones that sperm has penetrated prior to
the hard shell being formed.  Roosters are the source of the sperm.  The
hens produce the eggs regardless -- but it takes a rooster in the process
to get fertile eggs and hence chicks.

Lynn Kinsky (Santa Ynez, CA)
http://www.silcom.com/~lkinsky



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