Seven hens and avg. 1 egg a day

[newstart44]

We have 7 hens (4 one year olds and 3 two year olds) who haven't been laying well for months. I have looked (using ideas from this site) for egg eaters, we have looked for pests, we have adjusted feed. we are at a loss. Two are clearly molting now and I know one of the molters hasn't been laying for ~ 2 months but was before that.
Ideas?!

 

[hannahrachel]

The cause might be molting, but it could also be a weather change--a sudden drop in temperature has been known to stop my hens from laying.

 

[roostersandhens]

As hannahrachel said it could be molting. Are they free-range? If so they could have hidden a nest somewhere like in a bush or somewhere hidden. My hens do that sometimes.
Good Luck!

 

[newstart44]

It isn't temp. we live on the CA coast and have only about a 20-30 degree swing in a year. They were free range until a year ago. My yard looked more like the area around the Maginot Line, so we gave them a large run. I will say it is in a shady area so there is not many hours of direct sun.

 

[newstart44]

Ps. We regularly check for hidden nests.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Molters can quit for a long time, and if they are doing a partial molt it might not be really noticeable. What breeds are they, some breeds lay better than others depending on their age and time of year.