How long before a broody hen will lay eggs again?

[Superman1360]

Hi everyone,

I had a broody hen just hatch 2 little chicks from fertile eggs from another farm. She is separated with her two little chicks from the rest of the flock. Typically, how long before she will start laying eggs again?

Thanks.

Mike

 

[pgpoultry]

Yes Spish,

Some hens are like that. My Gold Brahma hen who is just hatching chicks as I type became broody after she had laid about 15 eggs, I broke the broodiness due to her age. She became broody again after laying about 4 eggs, so I let her hatch eggs. After losing interest in her chicks when they were just over 5 weeks old she came back in to lay. She laid about another 10 eggs and then went broody again. She is just hatching these eggs now.

So she has laid less then 30 eggs in toal.....but BOY can she brood,


Sandie

 

[chickboss]

Hey Mike, I don't know what is typical, but my broody started laying again after about 2-2 1/2 weeks. I was surprised because for some reason I thought she wouldn't lay agian until the babies were older.

 

[Superman1360]

Just was curious because my egg production has taken a rapid decline. We only have 7 chickens that are old enough to lay and I went from getting 7 eggs a day to only about 3. My customers at work are missing their farm fresh eggs!

 

[Gypsylion]

I'm so glad someone asked this, because I have 4 hens who all went broody together almost 4 mos ago. I finally gave them all some eggs to hatch, and now the babies are about a month old and I'm hoping the mamas will start laying again soon! Granted, they are mostly breeds that tend towards broodiness (a bantam cochin, easter egger, a silkie, and a standard modern game) so I may be waiting a while longer. The modern game is back to roosting with the adults instead of with the chicks, but she still hangs out with the babies and other mamas most of the day...

 

[spish]

i took the chicks off my broody when they were 2 weeks old (for saftey reasons, they were all being killed one by one!) anyhow about a week later she started laying again.

2 weeks later shes gone broody on me again

darn hen, thats the third time this year!

 

[OneMountainAcres]

I was wondering the same thing! I have 2 Austerlourp hens that hatched 3 eggs i bought for them! The chicks were hatched May 11,12&13 th. When will these 2 hens start laying again! I have 5 healthy hens and only 1 is laying! So far im not impressed with the Austerlourp breed. These 2 have been constantly broody and never have produced many eggs!

It really depends on the individual hen. They usually will not start laying again until they are done raising their brood. I have a SPR hen with 5 babies out there now. They're almost 8 weeks old and she's still taking them around, sleeping with them in a box and not laying. Typically, about 3 months of not laying can be expected if not more.

 

[chickboss]

Could it be the heat?

 

[Country Guy John]

This is a great question. The heat has also impacted the number of eggs that I am getting from my hens. I have gone from 2 or 3 dozens a day to 1 to 2 eggs per day.

 

[pgpoultry]

It's usually 4-6 weeks after egg hatch before momma starts to lay again, depending on the hen and the breed.

At this time she will lose interest in the chicks and may even shoo them away,


Sandie