Steep decline in egg production - molting?

[WesleyBeal]

Hello,

I've seen a huge drop in egg production, beginning 3 weeks ago, but really spiking 7 days ago.

Here are the numbers.

Daily egg production for the last 12 days:

Weekly egg production for the last 8 weeks:

My hens are 1 year old (as of today, 373 days old).

The only thing I can think of is a molt, but the summer solstice seems like a really strange time for that to happen!

I have had several hens go broody. One I let hatch out 2 chicks on June 9th. I broke another, and am in the process of breaking the third.

I have 19 young Dominique chicks that were introduced on April 19th, but egg production remained high when they were introduced; they're still behaving as a separate flock, so I wouldn't think pecking order issues would be that huge right now.

In other words, I can't think of anything super stressful that would have kicked the flock into a molt.

But then again, this is my first year. Maybe it's a molt? Anyone have any ideas?

-Wes

 

[Folly's place]

You are so organized! Very impressive! Any stress could cause this; molting, hot weather, predators roaming around the coop, food changes, anything. Sometimes it just happens for no obvious reason. PARASITES! Look hard with a flashlight at night for mites and lice, and get the permethrin spray out if anyone has any to be seen. Mary

 

[Sunny-Side Up]

I'm not really sure what to say, because all that I can think of wouldn't be it ( probably not molting, unless they're starting to lose feathers, it wouldn't be them getting old, 3 hens being broody wouldn't affect it that much, and you said that there wasn't anything stressful...) . Here are some things that I suggest.
Are they getting enough calcium and protein? If not, make sure they do. Hens use about 10%of their body supply of calcium for eggs. If you aren't already, start feeding them crushed oyster shells or wash their eggshells, crush them, and feed them back to your chickens.
Or, they might have a disease. I wish I could say what disease it might be, but that just depends so much on your area. I would recommend contacting your county agent to ask about common chicken diseases that are near you.
I hope you get this problem sorted out! By the way, I like your system for keep ping track of eggs.

 

[WesleyBeal]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't seen any signs of molting. I also haven't found any signs of parasites. All of them appear healthy.

I day range my chickens, but a few days ago, concerned they were laying eggs elsewhere, I kept them fenced in until later in the afternoon - same lackluster egg production.

I have found a broken / eaten egg now and then, every other day or so. Those appear to have been thin shelled mostly. I would think if some were eating 8 to 10 eggs a day, I'd see a lot more signs of that. But I'm just 1 year into this, so what do I know...

Parasites might still be possible - I examined the underside of the roosts, and looked over part of one hen before she decided she didn't want any more of that. Need to examine more closely.

 

[aart]

Tho spring is more prolific and things can slow down a bit, maybe with only certain birds, once summer rolls around but.....
..... hmmm, what happened on the 16th?
Seems drastic and sudden.
Heat wave?
That can slow 'em down fast.
Might have had a predator scare that you are unaware of?

Will take more than a day of confining from ranging to ascertain if they are/were laying out in range area.

Could be more are preparing to go broody?
It's a bit early for molting...but could be.
These layers are about 16 months old?

 

[Sunny-Side Up]

Sally, my chickens started eating eggs a few months ago. I had seen six eggs in the nesting boxes, then a few hours later they were gone- no shells either. I tried to figure it out door a few days, then realized they were eating their eggs...
Yours possibly could be, even if you don't see signs of it.
Keep looking for parasites, predators, and eggs in the wing spot. But it could just be a little weather or age thing - first year chickens have weird laying habits (molting not during winter, different inclines and declines in production at wired times...)
Hope this all gets solved!

 

[WesleyBeal]

The layers are all one year old. I cannot recall anything happening on the 16th. Of course, there could of been a predator around that spooked them that I wasn't aware of.