Why aren't my chickens laying

[TOPChickens14]

I have 40 grown hens and I only get on average 15 eggs a day. I have kept track of how many eggs I get each day and back in April/May, they were laying an average of 25. They just started their annual molt. But this decline has been going on for longer than that. They are all healthy. Some of them are 4 years old this year and I know that is contributing because they aren't laying every day anyway. Do chickens even lay every day? Or do they lay every 36 hours or something? I have lights in the coop on timers that keep the lights on for 16 hours. What else would be the cause? I looked today and couldn't find any hidden egg stashes. Could they be eating a lot of the eggs? I cleaned the nest boxes today and they all had yellow shavings. One of the older/less healthy hens has been laying soft shelled eggs so she always makes a mess in there. How would I know if they are eating their eggs?

 

[Happy hen lover]

What breeds and how old are they ?

 

[Mrs. K]

This time of year, unless you have pullets, egg production drops. And actually it has been dropping for a while, but it is slow at first. Chickens are not machines, all sorts of things will set back laying... the excessive heat we had this summer, rather put a glitch in things.
I would expect any 4 year old hen to stop completely now or nearly completely and not become a regular layer until late February. 2-3 year old hens I would expect 2-3 eggs per week as they are getting closer to a molt. Generally almost no eggs at all November and December, and part of January. 1 year old hens are approaching their first molt, but I would be expect them to keep laying the longest going into the dark period.

So depending on the ages of your birds, you might need to do some serious culling and getting of new chicks.

Mrs K

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you have a number of older hens (like the 4 yr olds) their laying rate can diminish quite a lot - less frequent laying, shorter laying season, earlier molt and later onset of laying again, etc. Might want to count up how many birds you have of what age, so we can get a better idea of what you can expect from the flock.

 

[aart]

I have lights in the coop on timers that keep the lights on for 16 hours.

Have you always done this?
They do need a break every year.

 

[TOPChickens14]

If you have a number of older hens (like the 4 yr olds) their laying rate can diminish quite a lot - less frequent laying, shorter laying season, earlier molt and later onset of laying again, etc. Might want to count up how many birds you have of what age, so we can get a better idea of what you can expect from the flock.

They are mostly SLW and they all look the same so I have no clue which ones are the older ones.

 

[TOPChickens14]

Have you always done this?
They do need a break every year.

Nope, I didn't last year and was getting only 2 eggs a day in the winter. That's why I put the timer on. The thing is, I have a fairly large family and we eat a lot of eggs, and I sell eggs, and its hard to have to tell your customers you don't have any eggs to sell.

 

[Aunt Angus]

My 4 yo girls have nearly stopped. Fine with me. They laid for years, so they've earned retirement. I add new chicks every year so I always have eggs to eat and sell. If you need more eggs, you might consider a higher production breed or hybrid. My Leghorn is an egg machine, and my recently passed Golden Comet laid almost daily her entire life.