broody hen

[laura29532]

I have a Delaware hen that went broody and laid 10 eggs. I had no rooster so I knew they were no good.
I removed the eggs and hen. She is running around the yard not a care about the eggs. How long before
she starts laying again.? she doesn't seem to care and does not go near the spot she was laying.

 

[sourland]

Given the shortening daylight period and possibility of a molt, especially if she is older, she may not start until early spring.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Before a hen starts laying she stores up excess fat. This fat it to be used when she goes broody so she can stay on the nest instead of having to go look for food. When she goes broody she uses some of that fat. She has to replace that fat before she starts laying again.

When a hen goes broody she stops laying and makes some changes internally. She stops growing ova big enough to become yolks. She dries up part of her internal egg-making factory and puts it on standby. Before she can start laying again she has to reverse those processes. How long this takes could depend on how long she was broody and how far she got into sending that system into stand-by mode.

Then there is what Sourland said. If you are in the northern hemisphere she may molt before starting to lay again. Some will start laying when they finish the molt but others will wait until the longer days of next spring to restart laying.