3 weeks ago my son's dog got loose and attacked our flock - killing 5 of our chickens, since then the remaining quit laying. We may get a couple of eggs a week - thats it. They seem to be behaving normal/eating normal, but I have also noticed quite a bit of feather loss going on. My husband also unplugged the lightening about that same time (unknown to me)...which I plugged back in and they have been getting 15+ hours of light a day for aprox 2 weeks. These hens will be 4 this summer. Any ideas? Any advice or comments would be appreciated. Thanks - Heidi
I know that hens will quit laying momentarily when stressed. This often happens when a hen already laying is moved from one to place to another, but also applies to your situation. Generally, if I get a hen that stops laying, she will start laying regularly again no more than 2 months out. That has been my experience. That being said, you did state that your hens were 4 years old and egg production definitely tapers off at that age, so it may be that they never go back to their previous egg laying schedule. You should know for sure in the next couple of months.
