We have 14 hens and only got 3 eggs in a 48 hour period.

[rutonski]

We just purchased 14 18 month old hens from a neighbor. He told us he was getting about 12 eggs in a week. That just doesn't sound right from what I've read. Is there something we can feed them to increase egg production? We are using chicken feed, oyster shells and scratch grains. We just got them 2 days ago so will it take them a little time to adjust to new surroundings. They have a large coop and a huge pen so they're not free ranging to hide their eggs.

New to chickens and we appreciate your help in advance.

 

[lisa Razmyar]

We got our girls from someone and it took a week or two to get them calmed down and into regular laying again. Give them time.

 

[wamtazlady]

Sounds as if you are doing things right. You have to be patient with hens that have been moved. They could take a month or longer to settle down. As for the scratch you are feeding, scratch is fine as long as it's not more than 10% of their diet.

Is the person you bought the hens from trustworthy? Fourteen hens should be laying 10-12 eggs a day, not 12 eggs a week. My 13 hens lay 10 or more on most days. Occasionally they only lay 8. If those hens are truly only laying 12 eggs a week I would suspect that they are a lot older than 18 months.

 

[rutonski]

I hope the person was trustworthy. I am a teacher in his son's school. We did get 3 more eggs today and 1 was actually in the nesting box. So I am feeling hopeful. We'll see how things go in the next few weeks. Thank you so much for your response.

 

[Cindy in PA]

At 18 months, they are probably very close to molting & the move might push them into it.

 

[rutonski]

I'm feeling more hopeful, we've only had them 5 days and have had about 14 eggs. That's more than the previous owner was getting. So hopefully once they settle in, we'll get a normal amount

 

[Spartan22]

12 eggs a week out of 14 is too little. You should have average of 50% production for 18 month old layers. So 40 plus eggs a week should be common, but depends on the breed and the age of chickens. Though it does takes a little time before they acclimated to new environment. Out of my 15 layers, I get an average 12 eggs daily.