Does having a rooster increase egg production? It’s a common question asked by the backyard poultry farmer. Remember, you only need a rooster if you want to hatch baby chicks from the eggs that your hens lay. Roosters are essential around your hens only to fertilize the eggs.
But if you want to just increase egg production from your backyard flock, roosters are not necessary and they won’t do anything to increase the egg production of your laying hens.
Does Having a Rooster Increase Egg Production?
No! If you ensure good housing, nutritious feeding, good care and keep your hens healthy, they will do just as well on their own. So, roosters are not necessary for eggs production, they just needed for fertilizing the eggs.
Age of Your Hen
Scrutinize the overall situation of your laying hens, if you want your hens to lay more eggs. During the lifetime of a laying hens, most of them lay well for two to three years. After this period, their egg production slowly decrease.
So, for better egg laying, try to raise hens aged less than three or four years. Although older healthy hens can continue their egg production. But they lay less compared to younger hens.
Egg Laying
Egg production highly depends on the amount of light your laying hens receive. And it’s not necessary to have a rooster in your flock. Your hens will continue their egg production whether a rooster is in or around the flock or not.
Naturally hens lay more eggs when the days become longer, especially during spring and summer seasons. During cold months their egg production get reduced due to lack of sufficient amount of lighting period.
Usually laying hens require about 14 to 16 hours of lighting period for better egg production. So, use artificial light for increasing egg production and ensure availability of 14 to 16 hours of lighting period daily.
Health
Egg laying highly depends on the health condition of a laying hen. Usually healthy hens lay more eggs than the ill one. So, always observe the health condition of your laying hens on a regular basis.
Ensure that, your hens have not any underlying health problems. Keep them free from all types of parasites. Internal parasites such as worms and external parasites such as mites and lice can affect the health of your laying hens much.
This also results slow laying or sometimes can stop egg production. Along with this some other illnesses can also reduce or stop egg production. For example, respiratory infection can cause hens to lay less or stop laying eggs.
Stress
Along with the above factors, there are some other factors too that can disrupt the egg-laying cycle of your laying hens. For an example, without food or water available for several hours can result stopping laying eggs for a while.
Extreme cold or hot weather can also affect egg production. Your hens can also stop laying if you move them to a new coop or place until they are well accustomed to the surroundings.
So, we have learned that, roosters are not necessary for increasing egg production. You only need them if you want to hatch eggs and produce chicks.
Your hens will live happily and produce their maximum without roosters, if you ensure balanced feeding, good housing and always take good care of them.
