All these hens and I'm getting 4 eggs a day...4 mature RI reds used to lay an egg a day, 2 wyandotes, 2 silver lace orpingtons, and 1 brown one nicely recovered from a near death experience. I bought 12 Buff Orpington strait run chicks and they are maturing. I've found 2 pullet eggs in the evening where the older hens lay in the morning. and...1 silver lace is setting on 6 eggs. Does a setting hen stop the others laying? The yard is big and there are 2 coops, 1 for the older birds and 1 for the orpingtons. I need to get rid of the extra roo's from the orps but can't really tell who is who. Only 1 is crowing but I think I have more than 1 rooster. Any help or advice is appreciated. they have gravel and shell always available. The don't seem to each much layer crumble but do eat the scratch...it is really hot, over 90 many days. so.. how do you tell a roo from a hen? and why aren't these girls putting out?
Sometimes the weather can affect laying. You might want to back off from feeding them scratch and encourage them to eat the layer feed, as the scratch may not be providing enough protein for them. Do they free range? If so, you may have hidden nests somewhere.
