Typically how long after having chicks does the mama start laying again?

[missnu01]

Because we bought a mama hen and 7 babies, and she was still setting on them when they were 2 months old..they are now almost 4 months old, and she still hasn't resumed laying...Is it possible that none of the chicks were hers and she is just a setting hen, but not necessarily a laying hen? She looks to be pretty young to me. She has nice smooth feet.

 

[TweeTea]

Good question. I have been wondering that myself.

I have just been keeping an eye on the comb of my girl waiting for it to go red again. Maybe post a picture of the hen or more info on the breed to make it easier for someone to help you.

 

[missnu01]

she is just a mutt chicken, bantam sized...her comb os red, but not an egg to be found...perhaps she is going to wait til spring

 

[missnu01]

oops doubled my post

 

[aoxa]

Typically if she finishes brooding in Summer she will resume laying anywhere from 4 - 8 weeks. This time of year she is probably taking the winter off due to short days.

 

[missnu01]

I am thinking it might be because she had the chicks so late in the year that she won't resume til spring...then again she was a totally free range chicken who set her clutch in a dog house so it is also possible that she is laying her eggs somewhere else I guess...but I went looking in all the places outside that I see her milling about, but haven't found any errant eggs...she is also very very quiet, so I don't even know if she makes egg laying sounds...our other laying hen definitely lets you know when she has laid an egg...there is no missing it...she will cackle and the rooster will coo and then she will cackle some more...she is a small chicken that lays extra large eggs so I get it...but jeez...
The egg alarm...lol.
I really want to see an egg from this mama hen...mainly because I am really trying to get this chicken thing going. I liked the idea of getting the mama because she is a bantam barnyard mix which should make her a good broody...I know she is a good mama because she literally just stopped trying to sit on her chicks, mainly because they are all her size or larger than her now...but 3 weeks ago she was still trying to sit on top of them...she looked ridiculous...more like she was riding a small wagon made of chickens...anyway I'll keep hunting for eggs just in case but really she has just started perusing the yard with our other larger chickens...
Her and the babies didn't like to leave the coop..I could chase them out and they would scratch around a bit right by the coop and then they would all go back in and I would chase them back out and same thing...so I gave up, but now she is leaving the coop and checking out the yard with our older chickens and silkie...the babies are still coop bound...although I guess they aren't babies anymore at almost 4 months...

 

[FarmGirl01]

Mine are usually done with the chicks and start up again after 8 weeks or so. But the weather and the season will have alot to do with it also.

 

[missnu01]

Mine are usually done with the chicks and start up again after 8 weeks or so. But the weather and the season will have alot to do with it also.

Well here's hoping that she will start laying again soon...and that she will lay in a nest box, as opposed to in the yard. Our only laying hen will run into the coop and hop in the nest box to lay an egg even if she is outside...so she knows what to do, but as I said earlier this mama hen is used to being a totally free range chicken.

 

[TweeTea]

...she looked ridiculous...more like she was riding a small wagon made of chickens...anyway I'll keep hunting for eggs just in case but really she has just started perusing the yard with our other larger chickens...

The mental image is hilarious, but I can totally see the bantam broody fixation, staying big momma as long as possible!

Ages ago we had a mixed flock of 12-14 girls, 2 of which were bantams. They were ALWAYS hiding their eggs. Our girls particularly liked to get into the middle of a clump of barnagrass (kind of like bamboo) and lay. Those eggs were generally only found when they began to rot. They were not neccesarily fixated on the one outdoor special nesting spot, but over 5 years I don't think they ever laid in our nesting box like all our other girls.

Look in all probable and all improbable places, she may not loiter where she lays as she is still trying to be big momma.