I got four Leghorns that are a year and a half old two weeks ago. They've only laid about 7 eggs in the past two weeks. I know it's been asked before and I'm TRYING to be patient, but I want to make sure there aren't other things I should be doing. They get to get out of their pen and free range in the late afternoon, all day on the weekends. I'm feeding them laying pellets and oyster shell calcium, and the occasional kitchen scraps which they love. I have a fairly small "coop" that I made from a dog house, per Mother Earth News instructions. I'm worried that it's too small and I'm planning to make them a new one, hopefully next weekend. In the meantime, can a too-small coop be the problem? They go in it every night on their own. Thanks!
Welcome to BYC. If they are free ranging they are probably laying their eggs in a hidden place. This time of the year it is also normal for hens to slow down and evetually they will stop laying and use the down time to rejuvinate their bodies, put energy into regrowing feathers and just in general take a break. The average is 240 - 265 eggs per year from a hen. That is a good stretch of down time when you will not have eggs.
