How many eggs will she lay?

[The Chicken People]

I have seven hens and my average is 4 eggs per day! However do chickens only lay once a day ? one egg a day? My BO laid an egg but wont get off the nest?

 

[jeremy]

If she won't stop sitting on the egg than she may have gone broody, which is when her natural instincts to set and raise chicks start, she'll stop laying eggs during this period.

Or you may have a predator problem of some kind? Opossums, raccoons, etc.

 

[The Chicken People]

Not a predator problem as the rest of the flock is free ranging ! The cop door is even open! I removed the egg but she wont get off the nest and its the one they all prefer! If she is broody what do I do?

 

[The Chicken People]

She ran out of the hen house and is now free ranging with the rest of the flock although she is being very vocal!

 

[jeremy]

You'll just have to keep an eye on her. The longer she sits on a clutch the more of a "trance" she'll go into. Removing the eggs from underneath her and giving her a loving kick out the door of the coop works just fine to break broodiness.

Oh, and she will persist. Once a hen sets her mind to it she'll try to hatch a clutch. SO you'll have to watch her carefully, hidden nests are another problem when a hen goes broody. She might abandon the nestboxes in the coop and decide to lay elsewhere because you won't leave her alone!