How long before a broody hen will lay eggs again?

I was wondering the same thing! I have 2 Austerlourp hens that hatched 3 eggs i bought for them! The chicks were hatched May 11,12&13 th. When will these 2 hens start laying again! I have 5 healthy hens and only 1 is laying! So far im not impressed with the Austerlourp breed. These 2 have been constantly broody and never have produced many eggs!

baderwoman said:

I was wondering the same thing! I have 2 Austerlourp hens that hatched 3 eggs i bought for them! The chicks were hatched May 11,12&13 th. When will these 2 hens start laying again! I have 5 healthy hens and only 1 is laying! So far im not impressed with the Austerlourp breed. These 2 have been constantly broody and never have produced many eggs!

Click to expand...

It really depends on the individual hen. They usually will not start laying again until they are done raising their brood. I have a SPR hen with 5 babies out there now. They're almost 8 weeks old and she's still taking them around, sleeping with them in a box and not laying. Typically, about 3 months of not laying can be expected if not more.

Auroradream26 said:

It really depends on the individual hen. They usually will not start laying again until they are done raising their brood. I have a SPR hen with 5 babies out there now. They're almost 8 weeks old and she's still taking them around, sleeping with them in a box and not laying. Typically, about 3 months of not laying can be expected if not more.

Click to expand...

Sounds like I got lucky. Ours laid her first egg 24 days after hatching. The 5 chicks are still with her, and she's still mothering them, though of course they're increasing their independence little by little. Hoping she keeps laying until our cockerels (13 weeks old) are old enough to fertilize some of our own eggs!

My broody hen started laying 7 1/2 weeks after her clutch hatched.

When I don't let her set a clutch, she normally stays on the nest about a week or two.

She's not the best layer but she sure has strong motherly instincts, thinking about renter her out!

Jeffross1968 said:

This is an old thread, but wanted to share my first broody experience. We had our 1.5 year old light brahma go broody. Her 7 chicks are now a little less than 3 weeks old, and she just started laying again this morning. Thought it would take longer.

 

Click to expand...

Does or did she continue to care for her chicks?

ADHSATX said:

Does or did she continue to care for her chicks?

Click to expand...

Not sure about JeffRoss's brahma- but our BR laid again when the chicks were 24 days - she laid in one of the normal boxes, not where she built her clutch and hatched the chicks, and continues to take care of the chicks. 3 days after laying, she left them on 'their' perch for the first time and went back to her spot on the roost. They screamed their heads off but she stayed where she was. A couple days later the night was cooler and she joined them for another couple nights. Out in the run, she doesn't actively manage their movements anymore, but she'll still watch out for them if a hen starts giving them a hard time - but they're getting more independent, so we're right at that weaning stage, now 4 weeks and a couple. days.

Momma hatched chicks almost 7 weeks old. Momma laid her first egg today. They have been in separate coop since she hatched the first one. Is it time to separate, and put her back with the others? Do not want to overcrowd the coop that she will go to....

Considering the onset of the annual molt, the weather, and weather related issues like heat, the hours of sunlight, and what breed or strain of hen you have it is impossible to say. However most healthy hens in the fat season will lay again about 2 weeks after weaning her last clutch or brood.

so ive got 2 white leghorns actually 1 right now the other ran off and is in hiding somewhere. Do more hens promote more egg laying? Or will it be the sane with just 2 hens?

So my broody hen just got out of the broody phase. I didnt have fertilized eggs so no chicks. But shes off the nest and roosting again. How long will it take her to get back to laying?