Hens laying great!!!

[LilDrummerGirl]

I have four hens (2 ameraucanas, 1 silkie, and 1 cochin) i lostmy rooster a few days after christmas (not sure what happened bwcause he put himself to bed with the rest and then we went in an hour or so later and he was gone. No attack marks or anything). Well i think the chickens stopped laying because when i went away for christmas they didn't lay any eggs (my friend was watching them) and they sisnt lay for a couple weeks after i got back. But now that i got a cochin to replace the rooster, all 4 have been laying a min of 1 egg per day. One day i got 6!!!
My question is, do chickens mourn bwcause it seemed like my silkie who was best friends with my silkie rooster was sad and alone and the others werent laying. Now that i introduced a new friend for my silkie (the ameraucanas didnt like her ar first), they all aing happy songs and lay eggs everyday!!! It is like easter threw up in the coop with all the differenr color eggs hahaha

 

[SunHwaKwon]

Some of that was likely coincidental with the short days around the time frame you are discussing. In addition, it could have also been triggered by stress surrounding the disappearance of the rooster. Do you not lock up/secure them at night?

Just so you know, it takes ~24 hours for a chicken to make an egg. So what probably happened (regarding the 6 eggs in one day) is that two of them laid right after you checked the boxes, and then again 24 hours later everyone had laid an egg for the day so you found 6 eggs when you checked the box.

As far as mourning, I have only seen that in younger birds with no mother, with them becoming distraught if their favorite companion is killed or sold. Usually they will just find someone else to attach to, if possible.

 

[LilDrummerGirl]

Some of that was likely coincidental with the short days around the time frame you are discussing. In addition, it could have also been triggered by stress surrounding the disappearance of the rooster. Do you not lock up/secure them at night?

Just so you know, it takes ~24 hours for a chicken to make an egg. So what probably happened (regarding the 6 eggs in one day) is that two of them laid right after you checked the boxes, and then again 24 hours later everyone had laid an egg for the day so you found 6 eggs when you checked the box. 

As far as mourning, I have only seen that in younger birds with no mother, with them becoming distraught if their favorite companion is killed or sold. Usually they will just find someone else to attach to, if possible. 

I do lock them up at night. We had the shed closed up and then we went in there to do something an hour later and he was just lifeless. No injuries or anything. All the other chickens were fine. They were all in great health too. So it is a mystery.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

I do lock them up at night. We had the shed closed up and then we went in there to do something an hour later and he was just lifeless. No injuries or anything. All the other chickens were fine. They were all in great health too. So it is a mystery.

I'm sorry to hear that. This would not be the first instance of an unexplained sudden death in the chicken world.

When you first said he was "gone" I thought you meant his body was gone. Sorry.

 

[adstowe]

I had a similar thing happen recently. About 2 weeks ago when I went to let my chickens out, my rooster was dead on the floor of my coop. No visible signs of injury. Now, after two weeks my hens are just starting to lay consistently again. I think the change to the flock dynamics stresses them out for a while.