This is an awkward one, but it’s also one of your most common questions. And then the tail feathers are lifted and their cloaca (posterior orifice) simply touch so that the sperm can enter. This is her cue to crouch down so the rooster can mount on top of her. How Do Roosters Fertilize an Egg?įirst, the rooster does a mating dance, circling the hen. If there’s no rooster, there are no chicks! 3. The eggs that hens lay without a rooster are not fertilized and will never develop into baby chicks, despite some myths out there. You only need a rooster if you want to hatch new chicks. If there isn’t a rooster around, the eggs are simply unfertilized, like the ones we gather up and eat. Chickens happily lay eggs whether there is a rooster or not.

Males also have large spurs on the backs of their legs. Males have long tail feathers, larger comb and wattles, and pointed feathers down their neck, while the females have feathers that are rounded. A rooster is a handsome bird and the big man on campus-or rather, the farm. Like many males of different animal species, roosters are more visually distinct than the females and are dressed to impress with brightly colored plumage and ornate tail feathers.

Rooster crowing