still in shock??

[holyhart]

The end of April, a fox came into the yard and got my rooster.

Right in the middle of the day!

My hens are all 1st year layers, all about a year old now or just under, and had been laying regularly until the incident with the fox. There has not been one single egg from my 6 ladies since that day!! I expected the stress could cause them to stop laying for a bit, a couple of weeks maybe, but I didn't think it would be this long! Other than not laying, they seem healthy and happy.

Any thoughts on why they still are not laying, and what I could try to possibly get them laying again?

 

[chicknmania]

They're probably hiding the eggs. Or something could be eating the eggs. Or THEY could be eating the eggs! Where do they lay? Are there any signs of shells or yolk?

Sorry for your loss, that happened to us, too! Foxes are just as likelyto hunt during the day, as at night.

 

[holyhart]

They were laying in the nesting box in their coop. There have been no signs of shells or yolks. And I would hate to think there is someTHING getting in to eat 5-6 eggs daily for the last 2.5 months and I don't know about it! Eek!

 

[holyhart]

Does anyone else have any ideas? I really think they have just stopped laying, and they are way too young to have stopped. How long do they generally stay too stressed to lay? I've had chickens for 4 years now and have never had this happen! These are not the chickens I started with 4 years ago, these were all born last summer.

 

[txnative]

If they are free-ranging then they have found a new place to lay. There was a post a few days ago (can't remember the thread) where someone found something like 2 dozen eggs hidden behind a wall in their barn.

 

[chicknmania]

If they are free-ranging then they have found a new place to lay. There was a post a few days ago (can't remember the thread) where someone found something like 2 dozen eggs hidden behind a wall in their barn.

I agree. our hens hide their eggs at the slightest provocation. They give a whole new meaning to the term "egg hunt"...

 

[holyhart]

We've had chicken hide eggs before, so that wouldn't in itself be surprising. But I haven't seen a single egg in almost 3 months! Even if the stress caused them to stop laying for a couple of weeks, that means there should still be in the ball park of a couple hundred eggs somewhere, right? 6 hens laying should give me roughly 4-5 eggs daily x 60 days??? My yard isn't that big! Am I wrong in thinking that would be a hard pile of eggs to miss? Even if they all had a different hiding spot, that would still be 6 piles of 40+ eggs!!

 

[chicknmania]

You might have an egg eater. Though unless they're all eating their eggs, you should find SOME trace. Idk, it's a mystery. I doubt it's from the stress of the fox.
Ours get stressed out pretty regularly at certain times of the year from predators, but they only slow down on laying for a couple of days. Could a person be getting into
your coop or nesting area when you're not there?? Sounds like someone or something is stealing the eggs. Might want to try a game camera...

 

[Ridgerunner]

It makes absolutely no sense that they are not laying as long as they are acting healthy. It’s just been too long. Some diseases can cause that but they wouldn’t be acting healthy if that was the cause.

Hiding nests makes the most sense. Can you try locking them in the coop or a run for a couple of days to see if you get an egg?

Something is getting the eggs. I really don’t think they are eating all of them without you seeing a trace, egg shell or wet spots in the nests. Not all predators read the book on how to act so you can’t say for certain, but many things like rats, skunks, and possums would eat them on the spot. Some things like raccoons normally carry them away to eat them, but they don’t carry them that far. A canine like fox, dog, or coyote would take them without a trace. So would a human.

A snake would also take them without a trace but I doubt it is a snake. A snake would take several eggs on one visit then stay away two or three days to digest them before coming back for more. Snakes will come any time, day or night, but it would take a mess of snakes to get that many regularly. I think you’d see some too.

Since it is each and every egg every day, I really don’t think it is a wild animal. A wild animal like raccoon, fox, whatever will not hang around all day waiting for eggs. Like I said they don’t all read the book but that just doesn’t sound right.

Do you have a dog that has access to the coop? A dog might learn that the egg song is an invitation to a free snack.

I don’t know your schedule, but a human doesn’t sound right each day of the week. I’m guessing you are home during the weekends

Another possibility that I don’t believe is that the fox scared them so much they went into a full-blown molt. Some hens can take that long to molt, but again that does not make sense for all of them.

I keep coming back to them hiding a nest, but with my experience when they do that it’s only one or two, not the whole flock. You’ve really got me stumped.

If you lock them up for a couple of days and get eggs, you’d know either they are hiding a nest or something is getting them that you locked out. But at least you’d know they are laying.

 

[holyhart]

I have searched and searched the yard to see if I could find any nests....so far nothing. They like hanging out by the shed, but it is locked, so definitely not IN the shed. I need a better flashlight to be able to fully rule out UNDER the shed, but nothing from what I can see.

As far as my schedule, I am home all day, every day! I have 4 kiddos that I homeschool, so at least the majority of the time we are home. Definitely don't think it is a person or predator getting in the coop. They are either hiding the eggs or not laying. We'll be gone this weekend camping, so they will stay in the coop the whole time we are gone (a friend will be coming by to water and feed them). I guess I'll know by Sunday if they are hiding or not laying. If one or more of them are eating them, I would see signs, right? And would she/they be able to eat ALL of them in that amount of time? That would be a dozen+ eggs....

Crazy!!!