Coyote Attack

[AshMckenzzz]

Hi All-We had a coyote get into our yard about 2 weeks ago and we lost 1 hen and another was slightly injured. The other 3 hens were fine and on the other side of our property so they were unaffected.
I could tell they were upset when they realized it was almost dusk and they were missing 2 of their flock mates (I was working to clean up the injured one). They calmed down and have been for the most part back to themselves but only 1 is laying.

Is this common and perhaps stress related? I wanted to see if there is anything I can do to help them get back to their complete normal selves. We've had predator attacks before but when they were younger.

 

[OreoRooster]

I live on a farm in Australia and the closest we get to coyote here is foxes. To prevent wild animals from getting in I always recommend when building a pen, bury the wire no less than 60cm deep, this WILL stop the wild animals from digging under (I hope this helps). Chooks can died from stress, it's very common.

 

[Latestarter]

Yes, chickens can suffer PTSD and it can affect their laying. It may be that all this is coincident to it being the shortest days of the year. Not sure how old your hens are... Typically chickens will lay right through their first winter but stop in subsequent winters. They also typically molt at the start of the 2nd winter. They typically don't lay while molting either. Hopefully they'll start back up for you shortly... like any time between now and say March. I don't know where you're located so no idea of sunlight or temps there.

 

[Cari C]

Absolutely, unfortunately. I had a raccoon come kill 2 of my birds one night. I didn't know until I went out to feed in the morning. My chickens were shell-shocked, to say the least, every last one of them. It was awful. I have 15 of them, so it isn't like I only have 3 or 4 and dote on each one, they just kind of do their thing and it was still very noticeable. I don't know if my rooster attempted to intervene, but I know the mama fought like hell, she was a great little gal. It took more than a week for them to start laying again and I tell you, it was longer than a month before they started to get back to normal in their heads. I'm sorry you all are going through this.