Dogs got into coop last fall, no eggs since

[recbob]

Hello all.
Last fall I had two stray dogs get into our coop/run and kill 4 chickens.
I had 6 that were laying steady and all the others were 6-7months old and starting to lay a few. Total of 20-24 chickens.
Have not had 1 egg since, it's been 6-8 months.
Should I just start over. I don't want to since I hatched 16 of them and one of my old hens hatched the other 8. Right now they are living the life, free room and board.
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thank you

 

[sourland]

I'm assuming that you are providing an appropriate flock maintenance diet. You don't give a location, but I am guessing the day light period is increasing, and they will soon start laying. If that is not the case, you may be in for a longer wait. They will lay again.

 

[Mvan42]

I had a similar experience but our was a friend of the hubs brought his dog over. It chased our girls around the yard I was furious. They stopped laying two eventually for sick and we had to cull. Not sure if that was also a cause of the stress or not but it was only a few months after the incident...

Not sure what you can do. Stress sometimes causes then to not lay at all or it could straighten out where they start again. Others may know more

 

[centrarchid]

You have some other issue now impacting egg production. What are you feeding them now? Can you determine manufacture date on feed bag and how long and how the feed has been stored?

Are they free-range?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Total of 20-24 chickens.
Have not had 1 egg since, it's been 6-8 months.

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

I would suspect egg eaters (or thieves like rat/crow) or nest hiders thinking the coop isn't safe to lay.. but they still go back in every night?

Put them on lock down... and watch your egg numbers dramatically increase... If not... I WOULD be starting over NOW.

 

[centrarchid]

Hi there, welcome to BYC!

I would suspect egg eaters (or thieves like rat/crow) or nest hiders thinking the coop isn't safe to lay.. but they still go back in every night?

Put them on lock down... and watch your egg numbers dramatically increase... If not... I WOULD be starting over NOW.

Put a couple store bought eggs in and see if they dissappear.

 

[recbob]

I'm assuming that you are providing an appropriate flock maintenance diet. You don't give a location, but I am guessing the day light period is increasing, and they will soon start laying. If that is not the case, you may be in for a longer wait. They will lay again.

Yes, I feed them Purina layena. The same food I've been using for 10-15yrs.
It was very early fall, late August, when it happened. The oldest were laying regularly and the newest had just starting to lay a few.
I've always had a decent amount of eggs over the winter.

 

[sourland]

Unquestionably the stress of the attack caused them to shut down or you would have gotten eggs from the new layers over the winter. The older hens might have taken a break anyway.

 

[recbob]

You have some other issue now impacting egg production. What are you feeding them now? Can you determine manufacture date on feed bag and how long and how the feed has been stored?

Are they free-range?

Unquestionably the stress of the attack caused them to shut down or you would have gotten eggs from the new layers over the winter. The older hens might have taken a break anyway.

The older hens were barely a year old.
They are white leghorns. All the others were 6mos old, that had hatched that spring. They are the offspring of Americana rooster and various chickens breeds I had. I used to free range my chickens around the farm. Now have houses built all around, so predators are compressed into our property and lost all the older chickens. I hatched/raised all these little buggers so I'm attached to them, but they aren't holding up their side of the bargain. Dammit

 

[centrarchid]

The older hens were barely a year old.
They are white leghorns. All the others were 6mos old, that had hatched that spring. They are the offspring of Americana rooster and various chickens breeds I had. I used to free range my chickens around the farm. Now have houses built all around, so predators are compressed into our property and lost all the older chickens. I hatched/raised all these little buggers so I'm attached to them, but they aren't holding up their side of the bargain. Dammit

Tell us about the feed manufacture date and how it has been stored.