First, let's answer some basic questions about Eggs.
1. No, you don't need a rooster to get eggs. Hens will lay eggs regardless. But, without a rooster the eggs will never be fertilized and will never hatch (if you wanted to hatch them).
2. Yes, you can eat fertilized eggs, it's fine for you. However, be sure to collect the eggs as quickly after they are laid as possible and put them into the fridge as fast as you can. This will stop the development of the eggs and will prevent the egg from growing.
Rooster/Hen Ratio- If you decide to keep a rooster, which is entirely optional, then you should have between 6-10 hens per rooster. You can have flocks that are smaller than that, but as the rooster matures he will frustrate the hens with his constant desire to mate, so having more hens is easier on them. Be very careful when keeping more than one rooster. Some breeds, like game cocks, will fight other roosters, sometimes to the death, if they feel threatened. Roosters can be very territorial. If you do keep more than one rooster, try to raise them together as chicks and look for breeds that get along with each other. You could also consider keeping two separate areas (one for each rooster). If you do keep them in areas side by side, make sure that there's more than just chicken wire separating them. They will try to fight each other through the fence and this can result in serious injuries, including broken toes, broken wings, and broken beaks.
Food & Scratch - Even if you giving your chickens store-bought food such as lay crumble, you will want to give them additional food on top of that. Lay Crumble is a good basic food base, but chickens will require additional nutrients and vitamins not found in Lay Crumble in order to have optimal health. Chicken Scratch, aka Cracked Corn, is a very good supplement. Don't put it in a bowl, just sprinkle it around on the ground and let them "hunt" for it. In the wild many chickens hunt for worms and bugs and eating cracked corn in this manner helps them to satisfy the need to hunt and makes for happier chickens. You can also freeze certain fruits and vegetables into ice cubes and put it in their water as a tasty way to help them cool off during the summer.
Clipping Wings - Clipping a chicken's wing is a good way to keep it from getting out of your yard. It inhibits their ability to fly. You clip the primary flight feathers of one wing, and that makes the unbalanced and able to fly away. This is completely painless. It feels much like clipping your fingernail. This process is not permanent and the feathers will grow back when the bird molts. Keep in mind that if you are hoping to show your chickens in a poultry show the wings cannot be clipped. Also keep in mind that if you live in an area where predators might get to your birds, clipping their wings might impede their ability to escape. It's really a judgment call on whether or not you clip their wings. It doesn't hurt them, it's similar to clipping our fingernails. The questions to ask yourself are why are you doing it, for your benefit, or theirs? If you lived in an urban area and had dogs on the other side of the wall from you, it might be a good idea to help keep them safe.
Dubbing Roosters - Many poultry shows require roosters to be dubbed (having the wattles and combs removed) in order to be shown in a show. This process is painful and has lasting health problems for the bird, especially in birds that live in the desert or other hot climates. The process is irreversible. We do not support this barbaric practice and have been petitioning to get it stopped. You can sign our petition here: https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-mutilation-of-roosters-at-poultry-shows
Noise - Hens are pretty quiet. Even hens laying eggs are only about 60 decibels, which is about as loud as a typical human conversation. Roosters, not so much. Roosters are very loud. I recorded my rooster, Chanticleer, and he clocked in at 99.74 decibels, which is loud. I have another page specifically dedicated to roosters, so I'll talk more about that there. But hens are no problem at all.
Health - I'm going to talk about health from both perspectives. Chickens, in general, are pretty healthy animals. They don't get too many diseases or medical conditions that you have to worry about. You may need to trim their toes periodically if they can't find anything to scratch, especially the back claw. You will likely need to supplement their regular food with fresh fruits and veggies in order to give them a healthy diet. The biggest thing you can do to help the health of a chicken is to get more than one. If you are thinking to yourself "I'll start with just one and see how it goes", stop right there. Get two, minimum. In for a penny, in for a pound. Chickens are flock animals and need company and companionship to thrive. Also, if you are adding new birds to your flock you should consider quarantining those birds, if possible. This will help ensure that the newcomer isn't passing along sickness or disease to your existing flock. As for humans health, there's a rumor that chickens are unsanitary. This is largely exaggerated. According to the CDC, less than 0.00054% of Salmonella cases can be traced back to chickens. 46% of all Salmonella cases come from vegetables. You are statistically far more likely to get sick from eating vegetables than touching a chicken. That being said, you can mitigate your risks by washing your hands with soap and water after touching the chickens, especially before you eat anything.
Growing your Flock - There are basically 3 ways to grow your flock and each comes with a different set of risks and challenges.
1. Introduce new adult chickens to your flock. Maybe you know someone who was moving or had to get rid of theirs for some reason. And maybe you've agreed to take them on. Sure, why not? What's 4 more chickens? This is certainly the fastest way to grow your flock, especially with regards to egg production. However, this will invariably create at least a temporary upset in your flock. Chickens have a strict social order, a literal pecking order. Roosters will fight with each other. But sometimes hens do too. Whether you know it or not, one of your hens is the "mother hen", the leader of the flock (aside from the rooster). If you bring new hens in and she feels threatened by them, she might fight them to establish her superiority. Not all chickens will fight, but they are all capable of fighting. Like people, chickens have their own personalities. All breeds of game birds are more likely to fight each other, and sometimes can fight to the death. If you introduce adult birds it's a good idea to keep an eye on them for a while and see how they are getting along.
2. Incubate from eggs - This process is one way that you can grow your flock using your existing chickens. You can pick and choose which chickens you'd like to breed, or you can just choose randomly. Not every egg will fertilize. Usually by about 10 days you can tell if an egg is viable for hatching or not, but by that point, it's no longer safe to eat. The biggest downside to this is that you will need your own incubator. There are plenty that you can buy, and lots of plans and explanations on how to make them. If you do incubate, don't let them go back to the flock too soon. Sometimes the adult chickens are less-than-caring and the young chicks might not survive. Instead, keep them in a brooding box until they are somewhat older.
3. Raise store-bought chicks - This is a good alternative to incubating. It requires less equipment as all you need is a brooding box. As with incubated chicks, be careful not to let them into the flock too soon. Unlike incubated chicks, you can buy chicks pre-sexed to ensure that you get the types of birds that you want. This can also be helpful in the very-long-term health of your flock because you would be introducing new DNA strands into your flock with these new chicks, so if you had a desire to grow the flock via incubation, then this would be a good choice to choice now and then.
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