How long before hen lays after raising brood of chicks?

[ddentler]

My "Dummies" book has just one sentence on this topic, it says mother hen will not lay eggs while she is raising her chicks. My hen's chicks are 5 weeks old. 2 still live with mom and she is very protective of them. She has not laid an egg again. How long before she starts laying? She is 8 month old Rhode Island Red.

 

[gryeyes]

My BO's solo chick is 6 weeks old, still tries to go everywhere with hatch mom, but Buffy manages to be separate from her for short periods each day. And she just laid her first egg yesterday.