HELLO, HOW R U PPL HOPE U ALL ARE DOIN FINE.I WANT TO ASK U THAT I HAVE A HEN AND I SAT HER ON EGGS AND SHE GAVE BIRTH TO 5 CHICKS WHICH R NOW MORE THAN THREE MONTHS OLD AND I WANT TO KNOW THAT WHEN MY HEN WILL START TO LAY AGAIN. AND HOW CAN I KNOW IF SHE IS GOING TO LAY EGGS OR NOT. PLZ DO REPLY ME AS QUICKLY AS U CAN. BYE

-- Muhammad Umar Hanif (umar_isb@hotmail.com), December 01, 2001

Answers

So, OK, maybe I'm a sucker, but here goes: If she isn't raising the chicks herself, she should have started laying again already. If she is, she'll start laying again when she feels the chicks can handle the world on their own. That said, it is now probably too late in the season to expect her to lay eggs in either case until early spring, unless you are giving her supplemental light.

-- Laura Rae Jensen (lrjensen@nwlink.com), December 01, 2001.

Yep. Coincidentally, she'll probably re-start laying around the time her chicks start laying too.

Incidentally, if anyone is going to ask questions, and they're not in the USA, it would help if they could say where they are. I happen to have worked out where you are, and it IS the northern hemisphere, but it sure isn't the USA.

-- Don Armstrong (from Australia) (darmst@yahoo.com.au), December 01, 2001.

Sir, My setting hens usually get tired of their chicks by 3 months so your hen must be a very good mother. This means she won't start laying until she gets over her broodiness. I would guess that should happen soon. You might try putting the 5 chicks in a separate pen for a week or so and making sure your hen has lots of water as well as some good feed. Your hen chicks should start laying at 5-6 months of age depending on the breed and the amount of daylight hours. A laying hen has a bright red comb, and 3-4 fingerwidths of space around the vent(where the eggs come out)

-- Karen in Kansas (kansasgoats@iwon.com), December 01, 2001.

My hen hatched eggs late in August and she started laying again in mid November. The chicks are still with her. I was surprised to see her start laying again because of the shorter days and the cold.

-- cindy palmer (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), December 02, 2001.