only one pullet will lay! Think it may be stress?

[RedfogsFlock]

Okay so in June we bought 2 pullets, one got eaten by hawk. So in July we got 2 more pullets, one got eaten by a cat. In august we bought 2 more pullets. They are all leghorns! So then about 3 weeks ago our standard poodle who shall remain nameless (he's 7 months) got into our chicken coop and almost killed every single one of my girls! If it hadn't been for Big Red our very first pullet who thinks she is a rooster I think he would have eaten them all! BUT she jumped on his face and got him pretty good, and serves him right too!
So now my one girl BR has stopped laying, and none of the others have started! Now they were tore up pretty good and the one girl I had to sew up two big holes in her side, and she didn't walk for almost two weeks!

ssssoooooo I'm thinking this has delayed their laying? Big red did lay everyday for awhile afterwards, but then she stopped. The dog has since been put on a chain in the front yard until we can find him a new home, but he has discovered he can see the girls while they are out and barks at them sometimes.

They get their rations (scratch, start & grow, & egg mash), fresh veges and fruits, fresh worms every other day when we go on turn over the soil hunts, along with fresh live mealworms occasionaly too! Oh the start & grow is for our 12 week old roo and two week old chicks.

Any suggestions or ideas? Am I on the right track thinking it's just stress still from the attack?

Thanks!

 

[asher]

It's very possible. It may also be a fact of the weather and season, though. You could give them some game bird chow to up their protein. Oh, also, how old are they?

Meanwhile, do you free range or what? I think before I worried about eggs or adding more birds, I would be getting pretty strict and getting a close eye on the coop and how you are having so many birds be killed. Obviously one is the dog, but that's a lot (IMO) of deaths in what sounds like a short'ish amount of time.

 

[RedfogsFlock]

Quote:
Well We were free ranging them when we were losing them, so we built the pen. When we lost our first bird it was when we just had them free ranging in the back yard, and the second was after we had built a pen but hadn't got a roof on it yet. But since we've closed in the pen we haven't lost anymore pullets, and that was about 6 months ago. It was a lot of deaths in a short amount of time, and that worried us. So when our dog got them I thought these poor girls will NEVER lay for us again!

Now they are penned up whenever we are gone, and at night. They have a hen house with roosts, and a totally enclosed in 15ft by 10ft by 8 foot high area for when we aren't home. They free range on about an acre every day for a minimum of 3hrs. Big Red is 7 months she was laying, Ham is 6 months, Bisquits & Gravy are both 5 months.


Well we quarentine our birds for a month before adding them, and our chicks are still in quarentine.

I will definitely try the game bird chow! I figured they would be laying by now, but for BR to stop laying threw me.

We have lights in our hen house and they stay on from 6am to 10pm everyday. I turn them on when I leave for work, and shut them off when I goto bed and do my final count of the evening.

Thanks so much for the help!!