Have I passed peak egg production?

[mikecnorthwest]

My five hens are about 2 1/2 years old and I've gone from about 3-5 eggs a day to about 2 a day. I've read that hens peak in egg production at about 2 years. I'm wondering if they've hit their peak or if it's just a matter of the heat we've been having. If they have peaked then I guess I'll need to consider when to start rearing the replacement flock. I have two daughters, 12 and 14, so I'll need to figure out how to handle the "replacement" part.

 

[extraordinaryfowl]

It could be either, around here my birds lay best march-july then september-october. When it is really cold they don't lay quite as much, and when it gets really hot a lot of them stop. You might give them a little more time if you have any desire to keep them. Although I have some hens over 3 years old and I still get 2-4 eggs a week a hen, and they aren't production breeds. Anyway, good luck! MW

 

[Life is Good!]

Perhaps adding some extra protein in their diet will help 'jump start' the systems? Mealworms are my girl's choicest treats. I've been raising the bugs all spring and summer - now have so many the girls are getting REALLY well fed on 'em! Which is good, as our bugs are starting to die off (lows in the high 40's this week - so stuff is winding down already).