Rooster killed, hens stopped laying connection?

[ffafun]

About two weeks ago our rooster was killed. We have 17 hens and went from a dozen eggs a day down to one a day in the last week. Is there a connection between losing the rooster and the drop in egg production? Should we replace the rooster?

 

[realsis]

did the hens see him die? was it a predator? sometimes any changes can throw them off their lay. my guess is that the change made them stressed . I'm sure they will start laying like normal again really soon.

 

[ffafun]

Some of them probably did see it. It was our hound dog. He has been closely watched and kept away from them since. Thanks for the input.