Egg laying slowed down...

[Maple Hill Homestead]

We have 6 hens, 2 black australorps, 2 Easter eggers, 1 barred rock and 1 RIR. They all started laying in mid-August and I was consistently getting 3 - 5 eggs a day until about 2 weeks ago. We started having days with no eggs or just one egg. That's about the time the summer heat backed off a bit but it is still in the 70s and 80s here during the day and only the 50s at night. No freezes or frosts yet and none expected for at least a month or two.

Now, two weeks later, I might get one egg a day and it is always an Easter Egger egg. It's been two weeks since I collected 3 or more eggs in one day. I haven't gotten any brown eggs at all in at least a week. They are all 30 weeks or more but less than a year old so I don't think molt is likely. Poops all seem normal and healthy. The only other thing I can think of is that we added on to the run about a week ago. So they heard all the (electric) sawing and hammering from that. They didn't seem annoyed or scared. In fact they were quite curious as to what I was doing lol. And they love their new run. But we are still only getting maybe one egg a day. Could they still be stressed from the racket of adding on to the run? Is there anything I can do to reduce their stress (if that is what it is) and coax them into laying again?

No evidence of predators or illness either. I've been checking on them several times a day trying to see if maybe someone (or some predator) is egg eating but that doesn't seem to be it either.

 

[AltonaAcres]

How old are the hens? Are they molting?

 

[Maple Hill Homestead]

Between 30 - 36 weeks. So unlikely to be molting in their first year and not showing any signs of losing feathers at all.

 

[aart]

Hard to say. I doubt it was the construction racket.
Sometimes even pullets take a break from or slow down laying when the days shorten.
You're in Oklahoma?
You don't free range at all?
No diet changes?
As long as they are eating/drinking/pooping/moving around OK, I'd not worry.
Not much you can do about it.

 

[Maple Hill Homestead]

Hard to say. I doubt it was the construction racket.
Sometimes even pullets take a break from or slow down laying when the days shorten.
You're in Oklahoma?
You don't free range at all?
No diet changes?
As long as they are eating/drinking/pooping/moving around OK, I'd not worry.
Not much you can do about it.

Just barely the AR side of the OK/AR border
Nope no free range
no diet changes recently
They seem healthy and happy as clams, just very few eggs

 

[Callender Girl]

Most of mine slow down as the days get shorter. I don't add supplemental light in the coops and let them rest until spring. Then I expect those well-rested slackers to restart production

 

[aart]

Just barely the AR side of the OK/AR border

Close enough.
Might want to put your state in the location this is what google shows: