I recently acquired an Ameracuana (or maybe EE) hen from a neighbor to keep my Buff Orp company after I stupidly left the coop door open one night and something (raccoon? fox?) ate her sister. The Buff Orp is about 5 or 6 months old and hasn't started laying yet. I also have two younger pullets, but they are in a separate pen from the bigger girls. My question is about the new hen. She hasn't laid a single egg since we got her about 3 weeks ago. She has been molting, and I don't know enough about chickens to tell if she's done. She has a lot more feathers than when we brought her home. She probably also was traumatized by her move, but now she and the Buff Orp are great friends and are ranging and roosting together. My neighbor also told me that the new hen went broody over the summer. The neighbor got some fertilized eggs from a friend in the country (we live in a no-roo zone) and let her sit, but nothing hatched. Can it take a while to start laying after going broody like that? Is there anything I can do to help her start laying again or do I just need to be patient? Will I ever have an egg???
