Do mothering hens with chicks still lay eggs?

[Happyhellybell]

Hi everyone

I've just recently started up my chicken patch again (very exciting).

I got 2 silkie X hens and a golden sebright X pullet a few weeks back and yesterday came across an auction for 2 brown shavers with their chicks for only $15 combine (NZD)

So with a bargain in mind, i went and bought them home with 3 chicks in tow (the rest were casualties of their cat..

)

But now my question is, are they still going to be laying if they've got babies?!

Cause at the moment they'd be fertile too and i'm all about getting nice fertile eggs for my silkies to sit on when they got broody (which i really hoped would have been sooner rather than later, because i have 5 fertile eggs sitting here with no broody chickens to sit on them.. - mum has an incubator, but i cant be bothered using it this time around)

So really i'm just wanting to know if i should seperate the babies off so the mums start laying again, or whether or not they have a dry patch for a while anyway after hatching bubbies??

Ok, thanks alot. Really looking forward to hearing you input

 

[oldchickenlady]

I don't know the answer to this so I will stay tuned in to learn the answer.

 

[PDurkin]

I believe the mothers stop laying eggs until the chicks are fully mature. I would not separate the chicks from the mama though, simply because it saves you a lot of work and even if you separated them the mama would likely still not be laying.

 

[PhoenixAngel429]

Quote:
Most hens will not lay while they have chicks. Although one hen we seperated the chicks from laid eggs not too long after the chicks were seperated. However, I hate doing that. We only did that because those hens were poor mothers.

 

[Tiss]

My mama hens seem to cast their chicks off on their own at about 6 weeks and start laying soon after.

 

[Country Heart]

In my experience mama hens raising chicks will not return to laying until sometime after they have released the "kids" from thier care - around 8 weeks or so.

 

[TK Poultry]

They usually don't lay eggs while they're rearing chicks, I wouldn't take them unless you had to. I took some chicks from their mom today just because its just too cool outside at the moment for them. So I popped them under a heat lamp. Poor girl is still calling for her chicks.... just breaks my heart : (

 

[they'reHISchickens]

it will only be 6-8 weeks til your hens resume laying, however, you may as well wait for them because the roo wasn't breeding them while they were setting-- so, infertile eggs even if they were laying. We have had broodies start laying again anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks after babies. I think the 4 weeks was the one who only set a week because I gave her newborn chicks within a week of her setting.

 

[ozark_chickies]

Cause at the moment they'd be fertile too and i'm all about getting nice fertile eggs for my silkies to sit on when they got broody (which i really hoped would have been sooner rather than later, because i have 5 fertile eggs sitting here with no broody chickens to sit on them.. - mum has an incubator, but i cant be bothered

A moma hen with babies will not accept a roosters affections untill she is ready to lay eggs again. So it is doubtful if you took the chicks, and they laid the next day(also doubtful) the eggs would be fertile. Do you have a rooster to put with the hens?​

 

[chickchicks]

if anything is to go by mine has stopped ! i ready somewhere is about 12 weeks before they start again ( dont quote me on thatone though)

hope all works out well for you and your girls