Help! One of my girls was attacked and killed by a fox a month ago. She was not the alpha hen, but the rest of the grande dames seem to be in mourning. This all happened just as I integrated three new girls into the bunch. No one has laid an egg since the fox attack. Is this grief? Is this stress from the new girls? I don't let them roam unchaperoned anymore. So...their free-ranging is curtailed. Can it be an adjustment to an am/pm stroll vs. hours on the lamb? I'm at a loss.
ANY stress can and will put layers off egg production, for a time. If the weather is also too hot, that's another stress. Are some also molting? They will resume production when they are ready. Whenever. Mary
After an attack like that they can stop laying for a long time. It is stress related because of the attack. Give them time to recover.
