Chickens not laying as many eggs as expected

[barnzdan]

I have a flock of 9 RI Reds. They completed moulting about 3 weeks ago. Theses chickens are about 9mo - 1 yr. I am only getting 3-4 eggs a day. I keep a clean coop, I change out their water every other day to ensure its clean, replace straw in the roost boxes every 2 weeks, keep diatomaceous earth in the nest boxes as well as their dust pits. I feed them granulated layers feed.

Is there anything else I should be doing to assist in better production? Im not looking to industrialize them by any means, but a little more than 3-4 eggs a day would be good.

Thanks

 

[aart]

Chickens usually don't go thru a full molt at less than year old, tho I had one who did at 9 months.

Did you raise them from chicks, so are certain of their age?

Do they free range? They may be laying out in their range area?

What is your climate?(putting your location n your profile can help folks give better suggestions/answers)
Excessive heat can slow laying for several reasons.

 

[barnzdan]

>Did you raise them from chicks, so are certain of their age?
No I bought these as pullets last spring. I am not completely certain of their age.

>Do they free range? They may be laying out in their range area?
No free range, they have a good size chicken run. I do another check to be sure they are not laying elsewhere.

>What is your climate?(putting your location n your profile can help folks give better suggestions/answers)
I am located in Northern Virginia, so lately mid to high 80s with humidity.

 

[aart]

Well, if they just had a full molt, then they are probably around 18 months old.
It can take a few weeks to a few months for birds to get back to laying after the molt.
Providing a higher protein feed during molt will help them get nutritionally back into shape and laying faster.
Heat can definitely lower egg production, they eat less when it's hot so less building blocks for egg production.

 

[barnzdan]

Great, hey thank you for the insight and details in your responses!