Chicken to egg ratio

[txroads]

Hi everyone. I really should be on here a lot more as much as I live this site and the emails and I’m really trying. But right now I have to ask for help. I have some beautiful hens and I love them all BUT….something is up with the laying…..
Roster:
8 Easter Eggers - 1-3 years old
2 Speckled Sussex 2-3 years old
4 Blue Australorps 1-2 years old
3 Buckeyes 2 years old
1 Black star 2 years old
One chicken coop 30 x 14
11 nesting boxes
Enough roost for 40 chickens…..but
18 chickens = 8 - 10 eggs……what am I missing…..all are in excellent health…oyster shell, nature wise feed, plenty of water, snacks ( combo of bird seed,scratch and meal worms) and once a week on Saturday’s watermelon, strawberries, sardines or ball of lettuce….fresh water every day and they have an acre and a half of foraging that they do every day weather permitting and it is game fenced with a German Shepard watch dog….I have searched everywhere on the property for a possible “alternate “ laying spot but have found nothing….
Would welcome any and all opinions…..
Very very grateful

 

[nuthatched]

Most chickens lay every other day or every three days, and some breeds are finicky.
Cuting out the treats and findinf a higher protein feed might help, assuming its standard 16%

 

[rosemarythyme]

Might want to try locking them in from free ranging a few days and seeing if more eggs turn up - that'll at least definitively answer whether or not there's a hidden nest or two in the free range area.

 

[txroads]

Thanks guys…..the nature wise I use is 16% and I just love it. I’ve never smelled chicken feed so fresh and it’s like that every time and the hens love it. I can sometimes tell whose laying and whoae not from the egg color. I’ve got another egger and an amber link close to getting ready to lay and after that four more Australorps and cuckoos that are still a couple months away.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The most common cause of chickens not laying is the molt. If you are north of the equator and do not use supplemental lighting over the winter that's probably not it for you.

Hiding a nest is way up there as a possible reason. It's amazing how well they can hide a nest, even in a fairly small coop or run, let alone free ranging. And amazing how many do this.

Many critters that get the eggs leave evidence behind, either bits of eggshell or wet spots. In North America the typical critters that do not leave evidence are snakes, canines, and humans. A snake will typically eat a few eggs and disappear for a few days to digest them before coming back for more. Yours sounds way too consistent to be a snake.

Most canines would be more interested in your hens than the eggs but dogs will often eat eggs without bothering the hens. Does a dog or two have access?

A human doesn't always mean a thief. Some people think this kind of stuff is a good practical joke. Yours sounds too consistent for that though so how possible is a thief?

So what can you do? If you lock them in the coop only or the coop/run and you start getting eggs you either have some hiding eggs (my guess) or you locked out an egg eater. You could subtly mark a couple of eggs and eave them down there. If they disappear you'll know something is getting them.

 

[txroads]

Thank you ridgerunner your input was greatly appreciated. The big German shepherd we have can’t get into the coop and their “roaming domain” (lol) has a six foot game fence surrounding it. She’s pretty good about not letting anything close even outside the fence and she loves her chickens, their like her pup’s because she’s never had any. The thought of having a egg eater hen is spooky but I guess nothing should be taken for granted.

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