Whats wrong with my hens?

[chickenlady81]

Ok so I have 7 hens and a roo...Sex links...two EE and a leghorn. I was getting about 6 eggs a day. Now im lucky if I get two eggs a day! They always get good food, fresh water and are let out to free range a few times a week. They are not laying in another place because I checked the whole yard. How can you tell if your flock is molting and would it be the whole flock or just a few? I just dont understand. We have been getting alot of rain the past couple of weeks. Could that be the cause?

 

[saddina]

Have you checked for snakes? they will happily snack on eggs.

 

[chickenlady81]

Can snakes get into a nest box thats screw up on the side of the wall? I just dont see how they could reach the eggs. I havent found any snake in the area. Also how would i get ride of them if they came into the coop? The chickens were free ranging the other day outside. And a huge frog came hopping past them and they grabbed it and tore the thing apart so im not sure they would even let a snake into the coop..lol

 

[Mahonri]

Sometimes production goes down in summer warmth.

 

[kellykate]

Or .. if you are in NH -- are you getting all this rain and cloud cover? I've heard several people around here (Maine) say their production is way down because of it. I think there is less sunlight and it is cloudy in the evenings and looks like it is dark waaay before it should be! Maybe?

 

[Farmer Kitty]

Are they fighting amongst themselves (re-establishing pecking order)? That would cause them to slow down with production too.

 

[chickenlady81]

Quote:
Nope no one is fighting that I can see. Everyone gets along really well .