Frustrated with Production for Months

Nope. I'll be setting up a tempting nest of eggs on the floor of the hen house - hot wired.
That should do it!

Although I once had a male Golden retriever who was driven to fulfill his fate of fathering an infinitude of half-GR puppies throughout the land. I strung an electric wire along the inside of the backyard fence, and one day I looked out, and he was chewing on it. Chew, chew, chew; pause; shake head vigorously; chew, chew, chew.

Although one day he hiked his leg on it, and that was pretty epic. He went under the house and stayed there for a while...
 
That should do it!

Although I once had a male Golden retriever who was driven to fulfill his fate of fathering an infinitude of half-GR puppies throughout the land. I strung an electric wire along the inside of the backyard fence, and one day I looked out, and he was chewing on it. Chew, chew, chew; pause; shake head vigorously; chew, chew, chew.
:eek: That's incredible!

Although one day he hiked his leg on it, and that was pretty epic. He went under the house and stayed there for a while...
I had a Golden that did that too, poor guy. My neighbor had a wire around his property for some reason, about 2' above the ground. My dog was doing nothing wrong, just happily trotting along beside me as I rode my horse. Yah, electricity's pretty convincing.
 
What's their diet?
What are their ages?
What source are you basing your egg expectations on?
Diet
Diet is the NatureWise All Flock plus garden scraps, a bit of scratch grains here and there, also whatever they find roaming in the chicken yard.

They don't quite free range, but have a yard 200 feet on the perimeter / circumference.

Access to plenty of grit and oyster shell by the feeding station.

Ages
Ages range from 25 weeks to 3 years old.

Expectations
Source is mainly my experience of how many they usually lay and some online guidance based on breeds.
 
One thing a about chickens they are masters at hiding nest. If they free roam then I'm sure some are laying elsewhere. I had a leghorn jump from the deck to the roof of the house and was laying eggs in the gutter that had Morning Glory growing on it. I just happen to be outside and heard the eggs song and see her jumping down. Got the ladder and sure enough big nest of eggs. I have about 33 hens and I get 12 to 15 a day now. Between molt starting, Broodys, Breed and Age I think I do pretty good. Spring time was around 22 day.

Thanks for the reply.
Just looked at a February egg basket or three that had 12, 13, and 15 eggs. That was before we even had the 11 new hens that are about 25-30 weeks old now. Maybe my expectations are just too high, but I was truly expecting 20 eggs per day.
 
One thing a about chickens they are masters at hiding nest. If they free roam then I'm sure some are laying elsewhere. I had a leghorn jump from the deck to the roof of the house and was laying eggs in the gutter that had Morning Glory growing on it. I just happen to be outside and heard the eggs song and see her jumping down. Got the ladder and sure enough big nest of eggs. I have about 33 hens and I get 12 to 15 a day now. Between molt starting, Broodys, Breed and Age I think I do pretty good. Spring time was around 22 day.

Thank you. They are fenced in, and though there are lots of places for them to lay, I can't imagine I've missed since I've looked so completely. But, far bet it from me to claim that I can't be outsmarted by a chicken!! =)
 
Besides the possibility of hens "laying out," could somebody be stealing/ eating your eggs?

Snakes?
Chipmunks/ squirrels?
Rats?

Maybe a camera in the coop could provide answers.

I just found out today that one of my own DOGS is my egg thief! But that's okay, I know how to fix it. 😉

Dog theif!?! Oh no!!!

I think they'd be food for the chickens if they tried. Have not seen any vermin ever in the chicken yard. I've got 2 roosters who I don't think would stand for it, and their run is covered and fenced.

Maybe I should invest in a good camera system!
 
The 25-30 week olds were hatched May-ish?

My first and second batches of chicks were hatched same time of year in 2023 and 2024. None of them really started laying until the days started lengthening again late winter/early spring.
 

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