Frightened Hens

[Linda Simpson]

New to this so looking for some help.We left 2 nine month old Winedots girls in their backyard for 2 nights with lots to eat and drink.
On our return they wouldn't come out of pen and stopped laying.
We carried them out and they had water and food but then RAN up the ladder to their pen. It's a pre fab pen with latched door which is then enclosed in a chicken wire fenced area. In turns one crawls under each other! Thank you for your help.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi, Linda and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us. It seems that a predator may have tried to get at them while you were away. Predator attacks (even attempted ones) can traumatise chickens for quite a while, and this can stop egg laying. I'm sure that they will calm down in a few days.

It might be a sign that your coop / run may need some reinforcement. Maybe if you share what you have built on the "Predators and Pests" forum, people may be able to give you advice on how to strengthen it. If you post on that forum, it will be useful to include where you live and the likely predators that you have.

Best wishes
CT

 

[drumstick diva]

Chicken wire does nothing to keep predators out - so I think if they wanted to eat your chickens they would have. Maybe hawks buzzed their yard and that scared them into the coop. Whatever it was must have upset them badly.

Maybe you could spend some time with them - sitting out in the run and talking to them or playing soft music. It should help them de-stress.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, Linda, and . Great to have you with us! I agree with both CT and Diva. Hardware cloth is the way to go to keep predators at bay. They'll calm down soon. Good luck and enjoy BYC!

 

[N F C]

You've already received some good advice, so I'll just say...

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[CuzChickens]

Welcome to Backyard chickens!! I hope you enjoy it and the camaraderie here and everybody that goes nuts over chickens (me being one of them....) Have fun! And ask questions! You have gotten great advice!! I will just say hi!

 

[QueenMisha]

Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you.