Well let me ask you some questions if I may.
1. Where did you get your birds? Some breeds or lines of breeds are inbred and have problems.
2. What breeds do you have?
3. What and how much are you feeding them? Chickens need a balanced diet. To many treats or non feed things can throw things off. I have BR's that don't lay well but also aren't eating the commericial feed as much since they are free ranged and not in the coop.
4. Any stressors? Like me, chickens don't produce well when they are upset. I've found some breeds don't get along. I gave away my Aussies and GLW's cuz they were picked bald. My birds do NOT like strangers. This includes family members who are not around them alot. DW got flogged by a rooster who lets me reach down and touch him. Never let the kids chase your birds or stress them by grabbing them. Mine freak out when the neighbors cat walks through the area. They now have two yippie dogs. Very annoying.
5. Free ranged or confined? Some breeds don't like to be confined. How much space they have to roam does make a difference.
Hope this helps.
She had been acting kind of slow lately but she was molting so I attributed it to that. She was a mottled cochin, an 'accidental hen' that I got from a friend who, seeing my chickens, fell in love with the birds and bought a few, one buff orpington chick and Dottie, an older cochin hen just getting over broodiness. Well, he wanted to keep them as house chickens, since he lived in town and found out that chickens weren't legal where he lived. Dottie, being an outside bird all her life, didn't take too kindly to this and started biting. So, long story short, she came to live with me. She didn't have mites or lice, and she was eating with everyone. When I found her she still had a big crop full of food. For all I know, she was 15 years old and it was time. I never once found an egg from her, or that I could really identify as hers. While she wasn't very tame and not one of my favorites, it still makes me sad to lose her. I just hope she was happy here.
