# Chickens: Ignorance-fighting opportunity **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 15, 2017, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675 "2017-05-15T19:33:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/61 "2017-05-21T23:39:32Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > In the absence of a male, how do you propose a solitary female camel would ovulate? Again, physical stimulus is not the same thing as “having a male around.” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/62 "2017-05-22T00:02:05Z")
But if the physical stimulus is provided by a male, then a female camel won’t ovulate with no male around, just as we said. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/63 "2017-05-22T00:30:14Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > 1. How many eggs does one chicken lay in a day? I read anywhere from one to five – that seems too wide. Perhaps their diet, age, or environment has a bearing on production? Average is 1 per day, assuming a normal free ranging chicken and not a battery hen in 24/7 light. Egg laying tapers off in winter > [@](#): > > 1. Related – many wild birds, such as our local turkeys, lay several eggs at a time, which makes sense as they would not be able to protect their young if they were always laying and incubating eggs. Why do domesticated chickens lay constantly? Is this due to selective breeding over time? Chickens left to their own, will lay an egg each day until they have a clutch, then will cease laying and hatch the eggs. (Yes i realize not all hens get the brooding instinct) If you keep taking the eggs, the chicken will lay near 300 eggs a year Turkeys average about an egg every other day. they will do the same as far as clutching. If you keep taking the eggs, turkeys average about 100 a year. Ducks vary from 60 to 300 a year depending on breed. White pekin layers can do about 300 a year > [@](#): > > 1. Do you need a rooster around in order to have the hens lay eggs? My wife thinks so, but what about those massive egg farms – do they employ roosters? Can hens lay eggs in the absence of a rooster? I don’t think my neighbor has a rooster (no crowing in the morning – or, is that part not true?). If there is a rooster around, wouldn’t the eggs get fertilized? That is not something you want, right? No chicken sex is needed to lay eggs, only to hatch eggs. Yes eggs get fertilized but nothing happens until the eggs are incubated. There wont be a magical chick inside. The eggs are viable to begin incubation for 5 days after laying. Eating fertilized eggs is no different than eating unfertilized eggs, you would not know the difference unless it has been incubated. Blood spot in egg is not normally a chick, its tissue from inside the hen that got into the egg. > [@](#): > > 1. I was surprised to learn you can purchase chicks and have them shipped via mail. How, exactly does this work? I have seen how bee queens are packaged and mailed, but baby chickens seems an order of magnitude more difficult. I have never mail ordered any but basically you put them in a ventilated box and ship them as live livestock. They ship just after hatching when the bird needs no food or water because it just absorbed the yolk sac into its belly button. Its good for 3 to 5 days. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/64 "2017-05-22T00:50:49Z")
too late to edit, but the ave per day does depend on breed. Meat birds don’t lay so much. On Roosters, if your chickens free range, a rooster is good to have. He protects the girls. A large rooster can grow spurs longer than your middle finger and sharp as hell, and they can kick them pretty damned hard. The hens like having them around if you can have them. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/65 "2017-05-22T00:54:14Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Not that I would’ve remembered this bit of knowledge otherwise, but don’t all birds (paging **Colibris** ) excrete a special something which is a bit of both and that’s that? > > > [@Colibri](#): > > > > Birds excrete nitrogenous waste as uric acid, which is semisolid, instead of urea as in mammals, which requires more water to dispose of. Uric acid is the white part of bird droppings. (The dark bit in the middle of a dropping is food residue, the equivalent of feces.) [Oh…Pee’d!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=826794) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/66 "2017-05-22T00:56:01Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > …the ave per day does depend on breed… I see what you did there… ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/67 "2017-05-22T01:07:04Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > I see what you did there… Yea sorry I have Layers, so they run around pooping breakfast, but meat birds tend to lay less. Battery hens are kept in 24/7 light and they basically burn the bird out on laying then kill them. Daylight cycles partly control/trigger the laying Some other things i forgot Birds do molt, they tend to take a short break from laying when they molt. Some of mine dont know this and lay anyways. Also if you are getting hens, and you are not going to let them hatch eggs, don’t let them go broody. Not only do they stop laying, they stop eating and drinking much and sit on the nest 24/7 even if you take the eggs away. They can lose a lot of weight and get sick. Key to stopping the brooding cycle and to drop their body temp back down. A few days separated in a wire mesh cage (with food and water and shade) and a gentle cool bath once or twice helps fix that. That or let them hatch their clutch of eggs ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/68 "2017-05-22T02:24:04Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But if the physical stimulus is provided by a male, then a female camel won’t ovulate with no male around, just as we said. Still, physical stimulus is not the same thing as having a male around. I thought GQ was for factual answers. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/69 "2017-05-22T09:15:37Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > Still, physical stimulus is not the same thing as having a male around. > > I thought GQ was for factual answers. The male has to be around her lady bits. That part wasn’t made explicit enough. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/70 "2017-05-22T12:52:54Z")
> [@Weisshund](#): > > No chicken sex is needed to lay eggs, only to hatch eggs. > Yes eggs get fertilized but nothing happens until the eggs are incubated. > There wont be a magical chick inside. > The eggs are viable to begin incubation for 5 days after laying. > Eating fertilized eggs is no different than eating unfertilized eggs, you would not know the difference unless it has been incubated. We had a rooster or two when we had chickens (sexing is not 100% accurate) so the assumption was we were eating fertilized eggs, and no, you can’t tell the difference even sunny side up. The chickens were free-range and we would gather the eggs from the usual spots they were laid, but would occasionally find one in a surprise spot. SOP then was to take the egg into the shed where the chickens more or less lived and smash it on the floor. We had no idea how old the egg was so didn’t want to eat it (we got more eggs than we could use anyway) and that way, it wouldn’t go to waste. It was smashed so the chickens wouldn’t learn “a golden treasure inside is hid” and start pecking _all_ the eggs. A friend was visiting when I went through the process so, since he was curious what a fertilized egg looked like, I cracked it open in a dish instead. “Where’s the chick?” \ “There. That white speck.” He was disappointed. I think, **Weisshund** , an egg’s viability is more than five days. When a hen gets broody (ours rarely were) she’ll lay a clutch one egg at a time until eight to twelve have accumulated, then settle down to incubate them. Since there’s little development in an egg until it’s kept warm, the whole clutch hatches within a few hours instead of a chick-a-day. Very handy for the chickens’ wild progenitors. ---
**Author:** ![Waxwinged](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c2a13f/32.png) [@Waxwinged](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waxwinged)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/71 "2017-05-22T13:31:20Z")
Re: Roosters being useless outside of fertilizing eggs/causing noise-- will gently disagree with this one, based on an experience of having 10 hens+rooster in the country. Roosters do try to protect their flock and will attack snakes/dogs/people, if they feel an intervention’s an order and are not total cowards. Can come in handy when everything and the kitchen sink is trying to eat your hens. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/72 "2017-05-22T15:55:54Z")
Now I have these internet ads following me around, about ordering Russian chicks through the mail and sexing them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/73 "2017-05-22T17:13:38Z")
Whatever you do, don’t order a rooster from those people. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/74 "2017-05-22T20:47:41Z")
Sure, **Waxwinged** , but the problem is that they think intervention is always in order, to protect the hens from foxes… or farmers… or each other. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/75 "2017-05-24T17:08:54Z")
Thanks for all the great info! I knew this was the right place for the question. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/76 "2017-05-24T17:31:51Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Here’s the Postal Service’s own policies on shipping live animals through the mail. > > [526 Mailable Live Animals | Postal Explorer](http://pe.usps.com/text/pub52/pub52c5_008.htm) I’m tickled at the idea that I can drop a 20" alligator in the mail as a “harmless, cold-blooded animal”. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/77 "2017-05-24T20:21:56Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Thanks for all the great info! I knew this was the right place for the question. Yep. We are getting chickens soon so this was very timely. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/78 "2017-05-24T21:42:32Z")
> [@Heracles](#): > > My sister-in-law decided to raise some chickens in a disused part of her attic. After some time (weeks?), she found that they were getting bigger and bigger, until eventually _their legs broke_. Then somebody explained to her that she wasn’t supposed to keep the attic lit 24 hours a day. Apparently they eat whatever they see, so if they have constant light and ample feed they get really obese. I wanted to address this. First, don’t keep chickens in your attic. Dumb idea on many levels. But keeping light on chickens 24/7 does not cause them to eat constantly or become obese. Battery hens are under light, with food in front of them at all times, and while I believe this to be cruel, they’re not obese. I’m guessing what happened here is your SIL got Cornish Cross chickens, which are meat birds. These genetic freaks are what you get when you buy a chicken at the grocery store, because they have an extremely high “feed conversion” rate (everything they eat turns into chicken) and grow bizarrely fast. These birds go from eggs to full grown in about 6 weeks (a normal chicken will take 4-6 months.) All they do is lay around and eat. If you don’t butcher them in a timely manner, they will die of heart attacks. They can’t stand properly if they get too big; they’re not bred for movement. Someone upthread suggested that meat in chicken soup is leftover roosters from laying breeds, but I doubt it. It’s not economical to grow out laying-breed roosters. It takes them forever to get big enough to bother with. It’s much cheaper to feed cornish crosses for a few weeks, and they’re just easier to handle–fat and lethargic and easy to pluck. Almost all of the males chicks from hatcheries that focus on layers are killed as soon as their sex is determined. ---
**Author:** ![Weisshund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ba8739/32.png) [@Weisshund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weisshund)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/79 "2017-05-24T23:41:50Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I think, **Weisshund** , an egg’s viability is more than five days. When a hen gets broody (ours rarely were) she’ll lay a clutch one egg at a time until eight to twelve have accumulated, then settle down to incubate them. Since there’s little development in an egg until it’s kept warm, the whole clutch hatches within a few hours instead of a chick-a-day. Very handy for the chickens’ wild progenitors. There is probably some variance, but if you are going to incubate them, it’s recommended to begin with in 5 days of laying or the viability goes down hill fast. In practice, from the few rounds of hatching i have done, it does seem to be fairly close. I have talked to people that have stored them for as long as 3 weeks and hatched them, but under very very strict conditions, controlled temperature and humidity. And the hatch rate does go down, but that would be expected. Me, i’m not building a temp controlled egg storage room 😃 Thats what the chicken is for Mine, only a few of the girls go broody, most of them show 0 inclination towards brooding and the ones that do basically steal the eggs from everyone else to make a clutch, that is if the others dont just lay them in the same nest to begin with. Its funny to see a bantam hen taking duck eggs, even funnier to see her try to sit on an egg half her size ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675/80 "2017-05-24T23:45:11Z")
Well, _some_ of the meat in chicken soup is bound to be from laying-breed roosters. You’ve got to do something with them, after all (the meat industry hates letting anything go to waste), and they’re not much good for anything besides soup. But that’s probably not enough to meet the needs of the entire soup market, so it probably is mostly meat breeds. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chickens-ignorance-fighting-opportunity/786675.md?page=5)