Egg drought

[Bryjag1965]

I have 4 hens , I had 6 before 2 died this hot summer , strange enough in the same few days.about 1-2 years old , they always laid about an egg a day until middle of this summer . I might get 1 a day , and it seems the one that lad blue eggs hasn’t produced an egg in over 2 months . I never changed feed and diet of snacks is the same . It’s Arizona so we had some heat , but not as bad as previous year . I found baby rats 4 months ago in pen , but eradicated all and haven’t been one in months, I don’t see any broken shells or signs hens were eating the eggs , I’m desperate , I don’t want to start a new mini flock

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Many hens over a year will stop laying this time of year to molt. Most will resume after the winter solstice. Young hens are the most productive, generally the first two years than production can start to fall off. It's best to add new stock each year if you want continual production, and to choose high production breeds.

 

[nuthatched]

They've molted and its now winter and time for a break