Can trauma delay or prevent laying?

[jenniferrose]

We had an incident yesterday where one of our flock was killed by a hawk. The rest of the girls are really shaken up and wont come out of the coop. They have not started laying yet (they are about 17 weeks old) but now my husband is afraid they will never lay because of the trauma. Is there any truth to this? (this is our first time with chickens and the only reason he agreed to them was for the eggs.. although now he loves them )

Thanks for any advice!

 

[GitaBooks]

I'm sorry about your chicken.


Trauma can stop laying, but it shouldn't prevent it forever. Just keep them calm, give them high quality food, and they should start laying around 20-27 weeks of age.

Best of luck!