After the chicks hatch, how long will it take for the hen to lay again?

[chick peeps]

One of my hens is broody and I am getting eggs for her to sit on soon. I was wondering how long it will take for her to start laying again after they hatch.

 

[Judy]

She will raise the chicks for about a month, maybe longer, then quit mothering them and start laying with a few days or a week, usually.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I find it varies a lot by the hen. The shortest time I ever had was 2-1/2 weeks after the hatch. That hen weaned her chicks at 3 weeks. I saw the chicks wandering around on their own and acting really confused so I figured a fox or something had gotten the hen, but no, she was on the nest laying. She was my only green egg layer at the time so the egg was absolutely hers.

The longest it’s been was about 4 to 4-1/2 months. That hen did not wean her chicks until about 9 weeks, but she went through a molt while she was raising them. It was fairly late in the summer. When she finished her molt she started laying again which was real nice. About the time she started laying again the other hens started their molt and stopped laying so I was still getting one big egg practically every day while the others molted.

My average is close to what Judy said.

 

[chick peeps]

ok thanks! Its just that I sell eggs to different people and I am not able to fill the orders as fast as I should be because my hen is broody.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You only have one broody hen? Lucky you.

I have a total of seven adult hens right now. One is on a nest until the end of this month when eggs will hatch. The other six have all been in and out of my broody buster, some more than once. I was down to getting one or two eggs a day for a while but yesterday I finally got back up to four total. I've been trying to breed broodiness into my flock so it looks like I am succeeding but I've never seen a summer like this. Totally ridiculous.

I really like a broody to hatch and raise chicks. You should enjoy that. She will eventually get back to laying but not while she is hatching and raising those chicks.

 

[chick peeps]

Well I only have three laying hens right now and only one is breed to definitely go broody. One will never go broody and the other its rare if she even does it at all.

 

[donrae]

You only have one broody hen? Lucky you.

I have a total of seven adult hens right now. One is on a nest until the end of this month when eggs will hatch. The other six have all been in and out of my broody buster, some more than once. I was down to getting one or two eggs a day for a while but yesterday I finally got back up to four total. I've been trying to breed broodiness into my flock so it looks like I am succeeding but I've never seen a summer like this. Totally ridiculous.

I really like a broody to hatch and raise chicks. You should enjoy that. She will eventually get back to laying but not while she is hatching and raising those chicks.

I'll swap you some of those broodies for layers

. Especially full size hens....they're treasured around here!

Most of my hens start laying again when the chicks are around 2 months old, give or take. I count on a hen being out of production at least 3 months when I give her eggs to brood.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I felt that way too for a long time Rachel. I'd be lucky to get one or two broodies a season. I've been trying to hatch eggs from hens that have gone broody and think I got a rooster from one of those. I wasn't even thinking of roosters for those broody genes but that's the only explanation I can think of. All these broody hens are his daughters.

 

[donrae]

Sounds like mission accomplished!

 

[ChickenLegs13]

After they hatch it takes mine 2-3 months before mine start laying again. I lose production for about 3 months, twice a year every time a hen sneaks off and makes a secret nest. I've been battling broody hens for 3 months now, got 2 in the cool off cage right now.