ok maybe I'm stupid (quiet!) but..

[mycatis]

Do chickens need a cockerel to lay eggs? I didnt think they did but I was thinking about it today (as you do) and thought well maybe they do?

[horselady]

hens don't need a cockerel to lay eggs for us to eat. I think when they want to hatch the eggs out as new chicks they have to have been fertilised by a cockerel. i'll probably be corrected for talking rubbish on the second point, but i know i'm right on the first!

[mycatis]

cheers horselady, thats where I get confused lol, I thought thats why they took away the eggs, so they couldnt turn into chicks! see, it's confusing!

[Clanad]

Hens will lay eggs without the rooster being present, but if fertilized eggs are needed to raise baby chicks then the old guy is absolutely necessary. Most of the eggs you buy in grocery stores are unfertilized. If you are fortunate enough to buy eggs directly from the farmer they are likely to be fertilized if the chickens were free-range... Nutritional values are the same foe either...

[mycatis]

Cheers Clanad. see this is the kind of thing that keeps me awake at night! (Gawd i need to get out more lol)

[Clanad]

Good grief! I see it's after midnight there... just past 5:00PM here... sun would still be shining brightly if it weren't cloudy and threatening snow...

[mycatis]

Where are you again clannad?

[Clanad]

Western U.S.... cowboy country, Big Sky country... etc. Lotsa wind this time of year... I was 18 years old before I knew snow was supposed to melt... I thought it just wore out from all the blowing around...

[mycatis]

ROFL nice one, I'm in Scotland we just have 2374 kinds of rain lol

[Clanad]

We had rain here once, but it's so rare they put it in a museum for future generations. We get about 12 to maybe 15 inches a year...

[mycatis]

rofl your kinda mental arent you!? :-)
(in a good way)

[WiccanKitten]

Somebody told me once (can't for the life of me remember who!) that some male birds fertilise eggs after they've been layed by the female - is it true?

they also said the same is true of fish....

was i mislead?!

[mycatis]

lmao See!! see what I mean wiccankitten? This is how people (well me lol) get confused about these things!

[Clanad]

Rest easy mycatis... here's an excerpt from an article written by a woman Finch expert:
"I'd like to take a moment to talk about eggs. Finch eggs to be more exact although most of this information can be applied to all bird eggs. I receive questions about eggs in general as well as questions about finch behavior regarding their eggs frequently. I'd like to dispel some of the myths and clear up some of the facts here.

For starters, all shelled (This includes birds and reptiles) eggs are fertilized inside the females' body. If you want to know how they are fertilized please go to my 'Finch Sex - Mating' article. I don't know where the idea started that the female laid the eggs then the male comes over to fertilize them. That's what fish do, and we don't have fish, we have finches.

To put a little common sense into the mix lets think about an eggshell; it's quite hard. It's not air tight, but there is still no way any sperm is going to get though that shell. The egg must be fertilized before the shell is formed and the shell is formed as soon as the eggs surface touches the open air.

The shell acts as a protective layer around the growing embryo until it's ready to hatch. The protection that the shell provides to the tiny growing finch is really quite amazing, It's strong and secure and helps to keep the embryo warm while the parents are away."

Here's the article in its entirety:
http://www.finchniche.com/f-eggs.mgi