Death of "head hen"?

[brownkowmom]

September 27th we found one of our 6 hens dead. It was a Cali white. We finally figured out that our dog must have killed the chicken. Ever since the incident our egglaying has dropped significantly. We went from 5-6 eggs a day to 1-2 a day. It is a very mixed flock (1 Cali white 7 months old, 1 black astro 1.5 years old, 1 Americana 7 months old, & 2 barred rocks 1 is months old and the other is 1.5 years old) so I can tell who is and isn't laying. The Cali has completely stopped and the rest are random when they lay. I have checked them all and they seem very healthy. So after some research I am thinking the chicken that was killed was the "head hen" and that the laying has stopped due to stress. Any thoughts? Any ideas on what to do now?

 

[sourland]

Decreasing day length is a very likely factor as is the attack on the flock. The continued presence of the dog or another predator may indeed be a stressor.

 

[Mrs. K]

Daylenght + molt. They often molt this time of year. Eggs are scarce this time of year unless you add light.