Around a year. A few are 2, but not enough to have made this drastic a drop. Possums are a slight possibility, but I doubt it for various reason. At this point the only likely option is rooster stress. If getting rid of roosters and upping the protein does not solve the problem, I'll put out deer cams to see if I can catch anybody stealing eggs.
Not entirely sure what them reaching inside the hens have to do with it. I haven't had any dead or wounded chickens any time recently. Opossums are a slight possibility, but for various reasons I don't think they are the problem.
Try adding a probiotic mix (Egg Boost) to their water and give them yogurt with probiotics, this has worked well for my girls in the past, esp in the spring when the days are not quite long enough and its been cloudy.
I don't know where you live, but sometimes, hot weather or rainy weather can affect egg production. I remember this when I was buying eggs from a nursery/farm. Also, could it be that the hens are beginning to molt? I have some older girls and one of them laid eggs for about 3 months last year, then started laying again in January. She stopped laying and I notice she is molting right now. Younger hens usually go through their molt in the fall, so it might be kind of early for that to happen to them.
Sounds to me like u have a smake getting eggs. Get a metal minnow trap and put it in the coop with an egg in it(real or fake). If u have a snake eating your eggs you have a hood chance of catching it in that minnow trap and it cannot escape it once in there.
I haven't tried that yet, but a friend told me it would help.
I doubt it's the weather. The weather really hasn't been much different than it usually is and I don't have this problem every year. They aren't molting, but from the stress of so many roosters they are missing feathers. That could be contributing to the problem.
