Hens not laying

[lonwolf32]

I have four young hens (about 2 1/2 yrs old) who were attacked by the neighbor's dog about 3 weeks ago. We lost one to her injuries and another lost a few feathers but no injury beyond that. The other two were unscathed. For about 2 weeks after the attack, none of them resumed laying. I assumed this was from the trauma. However, the only one of the 3 who was injured has quite recovered, but only one hen has resumed laying. Any ideas? I know the colder weather can have an impact, but even when it's very cold, these hens usually lay every other day or so. If it helps, one is Australorpe, 1 is a Buff Orpingont, and 1 is Barred Rock (the rock is laying daily. Could this still be a result of the trauma or is there something I should be doing? They are free range but confined to their coop at night.

 

[coach723]

Probably it's a result of the stress of the attack and the reduced hours of daylight this time of year.
Also you can check to see if they have gone into a molt. Usually molting stops laying until the molt is finished.
If they are molting, increasing the protein in the diet will help them through that.
If they seem healthy otherwise, then it will probably just take some time.

 

[lonwolf32]

Thanks. They do seem just fine otherwise. No sign of molt even.

 

[junebuggena]

It's a myth that cold weather disrupts laying. It's actually the shortening days of fall/winter that causes a hen to stop laying, not the colder temps. The solstice is in just a few more weeks, and then the days will begin to lengthen. You probably won't see many eggs for another couple months.