Mr. Rawles,
I very much enjoyed reading the article about Keeping Chicken in a Backyard Flock, by Nightshade. I have 58 hens and seven roosters and I enjoy every one of them. I did want to address one statement, however. It’s concerning the comment about the presence of a rooster and his ability to produce a hormone that turns bad cholesterol into good cholesterol. Perhaps the author of this author could verify that claim? I have contacted the nutrition experts at our state’s university research center on the matter, and they have informed me that there is no scientific evidence to support that claim. They said: “Dietary cholesterol, cholesterol that is found in the food itself, including meats and meat based products, are not measured by HDL and LDL and instead listed just as dietary cholesterol. Once a person has consumed the food, whether it contains dietary cholesterol, dietary fat or a combination, the person’s body makes cholesterol to handle/transport the fat and cholesterol. This transport includes HDL and LDL among others. The type and amount of each is unique to the individual and each person’s body handles the lipids (fats) differently. So, even if the egg were to have more HDL (which it wouldn’t) there is no guarantee that once it was ingested it would react the same way. Your body may choose to handle the cholesterol differently dependent on several factors.”
Personally, I believe that the nutrition of the egg and the hen that lays it is directly correlated with the diet she is given. Green grass and other green matter is very good to supplement the diet, and is said to reduce the cholesterol of the egg. The rooster should be more fertile on the same diet. I have had questions before now about whether the presence of a rooster would cause a hen to lay more, but I haven’t found any claims to suggest that. I suppose that if nothing else, the rooster crows very early in the morning, which wakes the hens up so they get off the roost and thus are exposed to more light, which is what makes them lay more. My purpose for having roosters is to produce fertile eggs for the sake of hatching new chicks and for them to to watch for hawks and owls when my flock is free ranging. It may be possible that the sperm has some nutritional benefit, I suppose, but I can’t find any proof of it. Sincerely, – A.R.