We let our mini appleyard hen build up a clutch of 6 and then kept her in the pen all day. That was enough to get her to go broody. Exactly 30 days later 4 eggs hatched. We sold two of the ducklings last fall and kept two girls. The littlest girl just laid her first egg 2 days ago by the pool. She's only 7 months old and the runt, but she's a tough lil bird. Found another one from her this morning in their pen, laying out in the open. Her mama buries her eggs in the straw, even if it's just one.
Before she went broody, our original hen was laying once every day or every two days. She's always been good at laying in their pen instead of hiding eggs like some ducks will. She's been building her nest lately and eating like a pig, so I expect her to start laying soon as well.
