Egg production has gone WAY DOWN. Help please.

[tripletmumm]

My hens during an average day will lay about 2 dozen eggs. During peak production, will lay around 30 a day. For the last 3 weeks, I am lucky if I get a dozen out of my ladies. It is the middle of summer, so it's not a lack of light. Our summer has been rather mild, so it's not from extreme heat. I make sure they have food and water every day, and they are not in a moult. I now have 6 broody hens who I have been trying to discourage for a few weeks, but other than that can see no reason for the drastic drop in my production. I even added 5 additional laying hens into the flock, and haven't seen a rise in production.

Anyone have any thoughts? My customers are getting a bit antsy at my lack of eggs for them.

 

[AinaWGSD]

If the 5 new hens were added recently it could be that part of the drop in production is from the change in the dynamics of the flock. You're down 6 hens due to broodiness, and it's a huge change for the 5 new ones so I wouldn't expect eggs from them for probably a week or two at least, and the rest may be stressed by the new hens and the upset in the pecking order that introducing new chickens means.

 

[tripletmumm]

The new hens have only been with the flock for a week, so I don't think that is the culpret. But you are right about the stress of it all adding to the mixture.