jsbates65 Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 i get home yesterday with a note on my door that I had "illegal fowl"!!!! I've had the girls for a year and did tons of research before I got them to make sure it was OK. . .so I was freaked! Didn't sleep at all. Called this morning to figure out what was going on and he said that you can't have roosters in the city limits! NO KIDDING! I explained that I had hens and he said, "Oh that's fine." ANyone else have people think their hens were roosters just because they have the red combs on their head? Sort of like. . .you have to have a rooster to get eggs. . .lots of misconceptions. Anyway. . .everything is good now. The girls are safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 "There's no place like home...there's no place like home..." Glad there was a happy ending, John! A hundred years ago there wouldn't have been the ignorance about roosters/cockerels and hens that there is today. Let's hope everyone gets a bit smarter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 phew, glad it was a happy ending. I am constantly amazed at how many people ask this question 'don't you need a cockerel to get them to lay eggs' - I've had it from people with medical/science backgrounds, who you would think might know the answer! And you're right, a lot of people think that only cockerels have red combs. It's our duty to educate the world! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkybijou Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 Ha ha! Reminds me the other week I had to explain, in detail, to my mum how an egg can possibly get fertilised. She is an intelligent woman in her 60's and honestly had no idea how the mechanics of it all could possibly work. I think she had this vision of the shell being a barrier to the cockerel, or something! The mind boggles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beach chick Posted June 11, 2008 Share Posted June 11, 2008 actually, I was wondering about the mechanics of bird sex today... no, no one tell me, I can google it myself!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickvic Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I am constantly amazed at how many people ask this question 'don't you need a cockerel to get them to lay eggs' I'm thinking of having little cards printed... nearly EVERYBODY I know has asked me this and I didn't think they were all that dim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 It's a bit like people thinking that hens won't lay eggs without a rooster. Am glad your girls are not going to end up on a plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Glad you've not got to get rid of your "roosters" . Do you know who shopped you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 was it a neighbour who left the note on your door or the authorities? If it was the latter, it must have been a neighbur who shopped you. Like Sartre said, "Hell is other people"! Glad it's sorted, what a rotten thing to come home to. "Illegal Fowl" indeed, it should have explained they meant roosters/cockerels, then you might have been able to get some sleep! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Tilytinkle Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 (edited) Glad your he she's ..or she he's ooops no just 'she's' are safely with you! Tee hee Eglutine, my uncle said exactly that to my Mum, my Mum then telephoned me to tell me exactly what i needed for eggs!!! " Uncle Brian said, she'll never get any eggs unless she has a rooster, you'd better tell or she'll be wasting her money" I replied, " all that money wasted on private education, I've never known a rooster to lay eggs, tell uncle Brian he needs to get out more " " Oh & Mam have you ever heard the old expression, what comes first the chicken or the egg? " The next week, " Oh & Mam, did you tell uncle Brian about our 6 chickens laying 6 perfect eggs daily all without a rooster?" " Yes pet, well - he was speechless!!" teee heeeee Oooh the joys... "My uncle was always the 'clever' one, the one we all looked up to, he had a private education you know" Ms Tillystillofcourselooksuptoheruncle,he'sstillthebest! Edited June 12, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 phew, that would have scared me too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Frugal Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Me too! Especially as one of my girls was "crowing" at 4.30am! If anyone complains that I have a cockerel and not a hen making an alarm call, I may just make my fortune with the world's first ever egg laying cockerel though . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hils78 Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I've had this cockeral mis-conception already & my chickens are still babies! What I say (which REALLY puts people of eggs - which suits me so they' won't bug me when mine do lay) is an egg is like a womans period - she keeps having it unless it gets fertilised....shuts them up & they usually turn quite green! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenanne Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 It astounds me how people don't really seem to get what cockerels are for.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 my mother told me that hens need a cockerel to stimulate them to lay eggs, the same way a cow has to have a calf to stimulate it to produce milk. You believe what your parents tell you when you're young and it sounded pretty plausible to me, especially with the cow comparison. I can't recall the point at which I found out it wasn't true but it is a popular misconception. Women have hormones that make them ovulate, I don't think chickens have hormones!? I always used to think the cockerel was the hormone part of the whole equation I'm not an uneducated person, just a misinformed person. Obviously I know better now but you shouldn't be astounded or amazed when people think that way. I'm sure not everyone here knows everything about everything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinkybijou Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Before I had chickens I can honestly say I'd never given it much thought, ha ha! I can't remember whether I knew or not whether you needed a cockerel, but I suspect I wasn't sure. I also consider myself to be intelligent (wibble!). Like Poet, we only know what we've been told, and how on earth would we know otherwise unless we looked it up, and what would prompt the question to even be asked if we didn't keep chickens?! Look at how far we've all come??!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Before I had chickens I can honestly say I'd never given it much thought, ha ha! I can't remember whether I knew or not whether you needed a cockerel, but I suspect I wasn't sure. I also consider myself to be intelligent (wibble!). Like Poet, we only know what we've been told, and how on earth would we know otherwise unless we looked it up, and what would prompt the question to even be asked if we didn't keep chickens?! Look at how far we've all come??!!!! well put. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms Tilytinkle Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Oh Poet,"i for one know nuffin' " my humour was tongue firmly placed in cheek not at all scoffing, laughing at .. it was more a family joke ( families who can be absolutely ruthless & sarcastic to each other in great fondness & received with great humilty & laughter) . .my laughing 'with' my uncle & Mam was affectionate as she rang me in a panic thinking i'd bought all these chickens & didn't have a rooster ( not knowing I'd spent a year on & off researching al info available ) Once upon a time I had no idea how i an egg was fertilised either, but i do remember even as a very young child picking an egg up, studying it & thinking . . but 'HOW' nevermind the addition of the cockeral & 'how'. I am still amazed at the perfect soft inside & then the hard perfectly shaped, formed hard exterior . .still i marvel at how brilliantly its fertilised, stored perhaps until needed, how perfectly its formed, how amazingly the yolk & white always look so specifically designed ! Nature is some opposition to anyones knowledge, a lifetime of learning & still it wouldn't be anywhere near enough I'm always amazed and astounded at the huge wealth of kindness, wonderful knowledge, information & experiences shared. Life being the greatest mystery of all, followed by the limbic system Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flo Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 The other question I get is "aren't you worried about the eggs hatching" - seriously! I start explaining that for eggs to hatch you need a cockerel and they go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
..lay a little egg for me Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 my mother told me that hens need a cockerel to stimulate them to lay eggs, the same way a cow has to have a calf to stimulate it to produce milk. Is this the case with wild birds though? Is it just the development of the domestic hen that has allowed her to lay eggs without a cockerel being involved? Surely blackbirds, robins, etc don't lay eggs in the spring if there is no male on the scene? Perhaps I should write to Bill Oddie?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 my mother told me that hens need a cockerel to stimulate them to lay eggs, the same way a cow has to have a calf to stimulate it to produce milk. Is this the case with wild birds though? Is it just the development of the domestic hen that has allowed her to lay eggs without a cockerel being involved? Surely blackbirds, robins, etc don't lay eggs in the spring if there is no male on the scene? Perhaps I should write to Bill Oddie?! that's another good point! I suspect you might be right and another possible reason that the myth is perpetuated. I did actually write to bill oddie once to ask him about feeding bread to wild birds (long story), him and simon king both have the same agent and their agent asked them for me and then wrote back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Oh Poet,"i for one know nuffin' " my humour was tongue firmly placed in cheek not at all scoffing, laughing at .. I know you'd be surprised how many times this cockerel/egg subject crops up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*mummy_hen* Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 I would have had a hear attack!!! Pleased everything is ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 What a spiteful thing to do. Sorry you had a sleepless night, that would have worried me too. When I told people we were getting two hens, a lot of them asked "Will you get a boy and a girl?" They're even more confused now we've got 2 chicks from bought fertilised eggs with 2 broodies and they ask "Is that the mum and dad?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted June 12, 2008 Share Posted June 12, 2008 Me too! Especially as one of my girls was "crowing" at 4.30am! If anyone complains that I have a cockerel and not a hen making an alarm call, I may just make my fortune with the world's first ever egg laying cockerel though . This made me laugh so much I almost swivelled myself off my chair Sugar has a really lovely big comb so I hope no-one thinks she's a he... Although they have a cockerell a few doors up so I know its allowed in this village (they would have shopped them otherwise, everyone knows everything here) NOT that sugar is a he you understand, she is all HEN not KEN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
