Dog attack and now they've stopped laying

JRsMom

In the Brooder
7 Years
Apr 14, 2012
38
1
34
Hi everybody,

About 3 weeks ago a dog attacked my chickens and carried off my rooster. He is fine now (poor baby lost all his beautiful tail feathers), but since then, 2 of my chickens went broody. I broke it up, but now only 1 of the three hens is laying. Is this from the stress of the attack? They don't act any different than before, other than not laying. They were born in early March, and started laying in July.
Is there anything I can do?

Also, my rooster has stopped mounting the hens, he was very good about that before the attack, but now he chases them, and when they squat he just walks away.
 
I don't know what breed, LF or B, etc. but let me take a shot.
The hens may be molting, when they molt they stop laying. Are they losing more feathers than usual?
Also, broody hens quit laying. They may not lay for 3-4 weeks after the broody period - natures way.
You may have a lot of stuff going on unrelated to the attack.
Is that possible? Hope this helps.
 
The hens may be molting, when they molt they stop laying. Are they losing more feathers than usual?
They are unlikely to be molting since they only hatched in March. Instead they will probably go through their first molt NEXT fall.

The stress of the attack could well have stopped them laying. The daylight hours are also getting shorter which means that laying slows down. And, going broody will stop them from laying for awhile. So you do have several factors going on that all contribute. Give them some time and they'll get back to it.

The rooster may still be feeling pretty traumatized. Hopefully he will also settle down and resume roosterly activities after some time.
 
Thanks, I am noticing more feathers in the coop than before, mostly white so they are from the blue splash orpington, the other 2 are blue orps.
 

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