I put a mirror in the coop and my hens stopped laying for 9 days

So about two weeks ago I read somewhere that a mirror keeps chickens from getting bored, and I hung a cheap 12 inch one from the hardware store on the coop wall. First day the hens were obsessed, just standing there staring at themselves and pecking at the glass. Then on day 3 I went from 5 eggs a day to 1, and by day 5 it was zero. I panicked and checked for mites, changed the bedding, added extra oyster shell, nothing helped. Took the mirror down on a hunch and by day 9 they were back to 4 or 5 eggs like normal. Turns out a mirror can look like a rival hen to them and stress out the whole flock, which I did not know. Has anyone else had a random coop addition tank their egg count like this?

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max47215h ago

The "rival hen" thing is real, I read that same thing in a backyard chickens forum last year. They see their reflection and think it's another bird in their space, so the whole pecking order goes haywire and the hens get stressed and shut down laying. Some people get lucky and their flock ignores it, but it's a total gamble. Nine days of no eggs had to be rough, glad they bounced back that fast once you pulled it.

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