How long did it take?

[MamaNichelle]

After your hen hatched eggs, how long did she take to start laying again?
Mine is taking her sweet time.

 

[Mrs. K]

It will vary, but mine generally start to laying again around 6 weeks +/-.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The only thing about chickens that is consistent is that they are inconsistent. I cannot tell for sure what they will do.

I had a hen start laying 2-1/2 weeks after her chicks hatched. She weaned those chicks at 3 weeks of age. I had a hen that did not wean her chicks until after 8 weeks and went into a molt while raising her chicks. She did not start laying again until she finished the molt, close to four months after her chicks hatched.

I cannot tell you how old the chicks will be before the hen weans them, let alone how long it will be before she starts laying again. I understand your concern but that is just the way it is with living animals. They start when they start.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Yeah, each hen is different. Mine started laying 5 weeks after hatch.

 

[LaFleche]

After your hen hatched eggs, how long did she take to start laying again?
Mine is taking her sweet time.

Exactly 4 weeks.

 

[Altairsky]

2 of mine - both same breed - started after 4 months, and did a molt after hatching their chicks.
A younger one, favaucana, started laying again 1 month after hatching her chicks.

 

[Cinnamon Roll]

I have a spreadsheet for my hens’ multiple broods and it varies a little bit from hen to hen but the main factor is the time of year. In early summer they usually raise chicks for 3-4 weeks then go back to laying. Mid to Late summer is longer, usually 5-6 weeks. Fall and winter chicks can be mothered up to 12 weeks and laying won’t begin again until the spring or weaning, whichever comes last.

 

[Mrs. K]

Cinnamon Roll has the best answer.

 

[Mrs. K]

Along with the season, I think the age of the broody hen may also affect this. Gramma Feathers raised a lot of chicks for me over the years. When she was 6, she took much longer breaks from laying. After molt she was the last to come back into lay, she really only laid for a week or 2, then went broody in May, and she did not come back into lay until late July, laid for two weeks - went broody and did not lay again after that.