Chicken shock?

[jnicholes]

Hi everyone,

I have a basic question. A few days ago I had a raccoon attack where I lost seven hens. I have six hens left. They’re all doing fine, they’re all alive, but their behavior is somewhat concerning to me.

First off, they are not going outside anymore. They are staying in the coop. Usually they come running outside when I call them. That’s not an exaggeration. They’re not doing that anymore.

Second off, they are not making much noise, if not any. They’re staying quiet as if they think they are in danger and hiding. They’re not clucking the way they used to when I had 13 hens.

Third, they are not laying eggs right now. I don’t know if this is because it is winter or if they are scared after the attack, but I had to buy eggs for the first time in months yesterday.

Finally, I can tell they’re eating and drinking, in fact, I just saw two drinking. However, they’re not eating and drinking much.

I did give them a solution that a user gave me on another thread to help with shock, and I put it in their drinking container.

Is this behavior normal after an attack? Is there anything I can do to help them get less scared and start laying again? Will it just take time?

I really want to help these chickens.

Happy holidays anyway!

Jared

 

[Eggcessive]

Have patients with them, and keep things calm and quiet. Being around them as often as possible is helpful. Offer the electrolyte water for a few more days, but also have plain water available. Mix up a small bowl of mushy wet chicken feed. Offer some bits of scrambled soft egg to the group once a day. Tuna rinsed in water to remove salt is also good. They hopefully will feel more comfortable in the coming days. Many hens take a break during these shorter daylight periods, but they may start laying again as the days become longer after the first of the year.

 

[jnicholes]

Offer some bits of scrambled soft egg to the group once a day.

Forgive my ignorance, but doesn’t that get them into the habit of potentially eating their own eggs in the future?

Isn’t that cannibalism for chickens?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Forgive my ignorance, but doesn’t that get them into the habit of potentially eating their own eggs in the future?

Isn’t that cannibalism for chickens?

Cooked scrambled egg is not similar in taste or texture to raw egg, so no, it doesn't teach them to eat their own eggs. There's no way they can understand that cooked egg is the same as raw egg. Jared, I used to struggle with the idea of cannibalism too. But then I realized that feeding them scrambled eggs or even, in emergencies, raw yolk, is not the same as feeding them baby chicks or even undeveloped fetuses - which would indeed be cannibalism. Yolk is the energy source that nourishes a developing embryo, it's not the embryo itself. There's a lot of nutrition in a yolk, but it never becomes a baby chick. I hope this helps.

 

[jnicholes]

Cooked scrambled egg is not similar in taste or texture to raw egg, so no, it doesn't teach them to eat their own eggs. There's no way they can understand that cooked egg is the same as raw egg. Jared, I used to struggle with the idea of cannibalism too. But then I realized that feeding them scrambled eggs or even, in emergencies, raw yolk, is not the same as feeding them baby chicks or even undeveloped fetuses - which would indeed be cannibalism. Yolk is the energy source that nourishes a developing embryo, it's not the embryo itself. There's a lot of nutrition in a yolk, but it never becomes a baby chick. I hope this helps.

Well, that explains a lot. Thank you.

 

[21hens-incharge]

My hens clean up cracked eggs in the nest boxes as they occur yet they do not ever break into eggs on their own.
Testing them I put an uncracked egg IN the feed dish right on top of their wet mash. At the end of the day that egg was still in the dish but every bit of wet feed was gone.

What I am saying and have seen in my flock for decades is given an open egg (including shell) they will ALL charge over to eat it. When presented with an unopened egg they do not/will not break into it.

 

[Eggcessive]

Good advice from @BigBlueHen53 and @21hens-incharge about feeding eggs or egg eating. Has been my experience as well.

 

[Seaslug]

People are very careful because they do not want to say that any type of animal is acting/reacting in a way that we would typical use to describe a human's actions/reactions. And it is true that it can be dangerous to declare motivations behind actions... but animals have similar anatomy and development and most people have moved beyond the "animals are automatons" view.
I do not think that it is outrageous to think that your chickens have been traumatized by the attack that killed their flock mates; they are changing their behavior from that which they exhibited when the danger occurred. It would be maladaptive to go on as they did previously because things have changed -- they are being successfully preyed upon. Give them some time. Once bitten, twice shy and all.