Only 7 eggs yesterday??

[TMNfarm]

I have a young flock that I brought up from chicks this spring. I have 6 BO, 4 Production Red, and 2 Black Australorps, so 12 total. They started laying a couple months ago and the daily egg count has been steadily growing ever since. A couple of weeks ago, I was getting 8-9 eggs/day consistently, then last week it went up to 10-11. The past 4 days, I had gotten 11/day and we are waiting eagerly for our first 12/12 day...

I had been keeping them in the coop/run until late afternoon every day since they started laying, but my son made a mistake one day and let them out early in the morning. That was actually our first 11 egg day and they were all in the nesting boxes, so I have been letting them all free range from early morning till they put themselves away in the evening.

Yesterday was a dreary, rainy day. I was home from work all day and kept going out to check for eggs. By evening, I had only gotten 6 eggs. As I was walking past one of the run-in sheds for my horses, I noticed an egg sitting in there! I went on an egg hunt and looked in all of their usual hangouts and didn't find any more...

I'm hoping maybe they all just happened to take a day off on the same day?? They have never laid outside of the nesting boxes before (as far as I know)... Did I bug them too much yesterday?? I have suspected that all 12 are actually laying, just not every day... Any thoughts?

 

[Den in Penn]

I agree they may all be laying, but some are taking days off. It could have just worked out that more of them were taking the day off yesterday. If you continue to get six or seven eggs, try going back to holding them in until the afternoon. Hens do break habit and lay where they want sometimes. Oh and bugging them wouldn't have effected that days lay, those eggs were already on the way.

 

[TMNfarm]

My daughter decided not to let them out yesterday, and we were back to 11 eggs...

I think I may have solved the mystery of the elusive 12th egg... I'm pretty sure I have my first broody hen! My kids mentioned a couple of days ago that one of the BO's was in the nest box when they went in to lock them in at night, then there was a BO in the nest box when I went in the other night. When I was home all day on Wednesday, every time I checked on them, there was a BO in the nest box, but I have 6 of them, so I didn't think to check who it was... Last night, there was still a BO in the same nest box. I know now that it is Primrose, so I'll keep checking to see if it is still her...