I have 11 Hens, all the same age, but of various types. A few Whyndottes, Black Astrolops and a few just brown hens. We were getting a surplus of eggs, now we are down to like maybe having 7 in the frige. Was wondering if anybody knew if it was what we were feeding or what to supplement to help them. Thank you.
It is common for egg production to slow down at this time of year, as the daylight hours begin to decrease and some birds begin molting. What you're feeding doesn't have much impact on their egg production. The best thing to do to ramp production up is supply artificial lighting to your coop. The optimum amount of light for laying hens is at least 14 hours a day.
How old are they? Older hens will decrease in incubation. Birds new to laying are often irregular and may start then stop. Are any of them molting? Molting birds, birds beginning to molt, or birds that have just finished a molt will often slow down or stop egg laying. Has any stressful ocurrence happened lately? Predator attacks or hot weather can stress birds out, causing them to briefly stop laying. Daylight hours are decreasing throughout the United States. All birds will decrease egg production at least a little due to the decreasing daylight hours. To ensure maintained egg production, it is often neccesary to provide supplemental light so that daylight hours are 14-16 hours.
