Omelet wrote:
> In article >,
> Chemiker > wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:28:40 -0500, George Shirley
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Becca wrote:
>>>> bulka wrote:
>>> Hens in those egg factories never even get to meet a rooster and they
>>> lay an egg a day until they're butchered.
>> Yes, but the others, rooster-familiar, lay their eggs more happily...
>>
>> Alex
>
> Up to a point...
>
> This is discussed on poultry lists quite a bit. If you only want to
> keep 3 or 4 hens for eggs, having a rooster is a bad idea. The ideal hen
> to rooster ratio is around 20 hens to one rooster.
>
> The average rooster mates about once every 20 minutes. Over-bred hens
> actually lay _fewer_ eggs due to the stress.
>
> There are patterns for hen vests to protect a hens upper back and the
> top of her wings from having the feathers ripped out by over-aggressive
> breeding.
>
> Keeping a rooster is not all it's cracked up to be.

I had thought that if reincarnation exists I would want to come back as
some rich lady's lap dog. Now that I've read this post I think I want to
come back as a rooster.