New to the game NEED HELP

[BryanS]

Please help,

On Thurs, August 20th I bought 12 (11 hens, 1 rooster). At first was getting about 6-8 eggs a day. Co-worker I bought them from said he was getting 9-11 a day. after a few day the production has really dropped. 1-3 a day, even a couple days where I did not get any. I do have 2 dogs that roam the yard but aren't interested in them.

I make sure they have fresh water a couple times a day. Housing is 12 sqft. Using the same feed as previous owner. As a treat they will get mealworms every couple days. Also have a dust bath with play sand.

I cant think of anything I'm doing wrong. Will be adding a solar rope light tonight since where I am we are down to about we are down to about 13hrs of daylight.

Any ideas what happening? Is this because of the move (different surroundings). Their previous hutch they could not see out unless they flew up (flight training). New one is open on the bottom and in the front. there is also an attached box on the side to get out of the elements.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

moving is stressful
stress can stop ovulation

 

[sourland]

You are doing/have done nothing wrong. Generally after being moved to a new environment hens lay for 2 or 3 days - these are the eggs they were already in the reproductive tract. After that due to the stress of being moved they will stop laying for a while. You don't mention their age, but given the time of year they may even molt prior to returning to full production.

 

[BryanS]

I was told they are about a year old. How long do they molt?

 

[dc3085]

Molt takes a few weeks