Do Broody hens start laying again?

[rsomogye]

I have a 2 year old Broody hen. All my other chickens were killed by an animal a month ago. Now there are no eggs for the broody hen to sit on but she still is not laying eggs. Will she ever lay eggs again?

 

[rsomogye]

Do you think my hen is lonely? she started going up on the porch with the cats. She never did that before.

 

[quackingdom]

She will keep setting and setting until she gets babies. That's just how chickens work, even if she has no eggs under her. However, she WILL lay again if you make her forget about brooding. Unfortunately, it's hard to break up a broody chicken, harder than for ducks. The only way to do it is to lock her out of the nest until she forgets about it. She'll hate being locked out and will try to get back in, and I've read that some broody hens will refuse to eat and drink until they get back in, so it might be unsuccessful. But hopefully, she will give up in a few days and go back to laying.

Yes, she will be lonely. If you can, please get at least one more chicken! Male or female will do – I don't know for sure, but I think a male might be better to make her stop going broody.

 

[junebuggena]

Get her some company and you need to break her broodiness. Keeping her out of the coop might not work. The best and quickest way is to put her in an elevated crate with food and water, no bedding. Let her out once a day, if she heads for the nest, put her back in the crate. Once you let her out and she doesn't go for the nest, it's worked. She will start laying again.
As for getting her some company, a rooster needs at least 8 hens. If you don't have room for that many new birds, then just get a few new girls. Having a rooster around will have no affect on broodiness.

 

[quackingdom]

Get her some company and you need to break her broodiness. Keeping her out of the coop might not work. The best and quickest way is to put her in an elevated crate with food and water, no bedding. Let her out once a day, if she heads for the nest, put her back in the crate. Once you let her out and she doesn't go for the nest, it's worked. She will start laying again.
As for getting her some company, a rooster needs at least 8 hens. If you don't have room for that many new birds, then just get a few new girls. Having a rooster around will have no affect on broodiness.

I'm sorry, I guess I didn't quite get it straight.

I didn't mean locking her out of the coop, just the nest. Same idea as junebuggena had, basically. I was only guessing that a rooster might help; I guess I was wrong.

But as far as “a rooster needs eight hens,” doesn't that only apply when you have two roosters? You can only have two roosters if you have sixteen hens? Many people have just one hen and one rooster, or a few hens for one rooster.

~Hannah

 

[junebuggena]

Some roosters only need a few hens, but most need at least 8. Some can easily keep 15 hens fertile. The problem with only a few hens for one rooster is the hens can be overbred, sometimes to the point of serious injury.

 

[rsomogye]

Thank you I will get some more hens. I also plan to get some chicks in the spring.

 

[Percheron chick]

You can give her some chicks to raise. It will break her broodiness. When she's done raising them, she will naturally start laying again.