DO ROOSTERS FERTILIZE EGGS?

by Cindy granat
(Marioncenter,pa indiana)

Does the rooster fertilize the egg?

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by: Sharon

You do need a fertile rooster to have fertile eggs. But the completed egg is not what gets fertilized. It takes about 30 hours for a hen to make one egg.

The complete egg in the shell is past the part of egg production, inside the hen, where fertilization takes place. It's the yolk of the egg that gets made first. Once it's complete the yolk moves to a place inside the hen, where it stays for about 15 minutes & is fertilized - if she has been bred by a fertile rooster recently & successfully.

I've read that for 2-4 weeks after mating with a fertile rooster, it's possible for that hen to continue to lay fertile eggs.

Once past the fertilization part in the hen, the yolk moves on - fertile or not- to the part of her body where the "egg white" albumen is formed around the yolk. Then 2 protective layers are formed, then shell is formed. As the egg is being laid another protective coating is added around the shell.

Even without a rooster, hens can still create eggs inside their bodies and lay them. Hens don't know if their eggs are fertile or not, so even hens that have never seen a rooster or mated, may try to sit on their eggs and keep them warm enough to hatch.

There are many steps that must take place in order for a hen to produce a complete and fertile egg. And quite a few more steps have to take place for a fertile egg to hatch.

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