Chickens

[deepseadiver]

If a hen lays a dozen eggs what % will be female..??.... my thinking is that it would be more girlie chicks but does anyone know better???

[heathfield]

Very variable. In two recorded cases, 15 eggs produced 1 male and 14 female chicks, yet, 12 other eggs produced 9 males and 3 females. Egg producers want female chicks, while meat producers want male chicks, so research is corrently being carried out on how to achieve this.

[lankeela]

Maybe if they ever find the answer it will solve the problem of people keeping cockerels and then expecting others to take them on when they start fighting and crowing. All of the pet rehoming sites carry loads of adverts for people wanting good homes for cockerels.

[wildwood]

As with all birds, it evens out at 50/50. These proportions can not be artificially altered, like it can with reptiles. The excess of males assures that only the most robust ones will pass their genes on for the good of the species.

[tamborine]

The more cockerels that serve her the more females she will have. One cockerel only on her will produce males.

[heathfield]

Further to Wildwood's answer of 50/50... Nearly all species have the inate ability to alter the gender ratio of their offspring, even humans!. It is dependent largely on environmental conditions, but also seems to be based on the need for the survival of the species. As an example, for the duration of WWII when men were required for the fighting forces, more boys were born than girls!