Hi I am wondering if anyone can tell me how long a hen may be broody, if there is something that can be done to help them get over it sooner, if they go broody and then hatch chicks how long till thye start laying again, etc. I am just trying to understand how this broodiness thing works.
First I would suggest you use the "search" feature at the top of the page and type in the word 'broody' - you'll get some great posts that will tell you all about them. Some hens go broody, some don't. A hen can go broody without a rooster but she can't hatch eggs unless there is a rooster who has fertilized them. If you don't want a hen to stay broody you can try putting her in a wire dog kennel/cage with nothing (no bedding) except food and water. After a few days (up to a week), she should snap out of it. This isn't 100% effective but seems to work most of the time. After a hen hatches her chicks I've heard some people say they've started laying eggs in a week or so but I think the norm would be closer to a few weeks to a month afterwards. My broody decided to stop being momma to her chick when the baby was about a month old and within a week my hen started laying again. All hens are different.
The following is simply my experience, I'm not telling it as fact for everybody and every hen: I've noticed that when I feed the girls corn-on-the-cob every day for at least a week, two of my girls have soon after gone broody. It happened to Pumpkin three times in one year, and the latest time, it was Sweetness. She only just came out of it yesterday. So, for me and my chickens, no more corn-on-the-cob.
Too funny, if corn on the cob worked for broodiness....then mine would be on a strict diet.... Usually mom will start to lay again when the babys are fully feathered and ready to go on their own. This is prolly around 6 to 8 weeks after they hatch. bigzio