Low Egg Count!

[KathJ]

Over the past few months our egg count has really dropped. Yesterday we only got 2 eggs from 12 girls We've got 7 older girls (about 2 and a half) and over the summer a couple of them were moulting so eggs dropped off but all 7 are now fully feathered and looking healthy and although they make all the sounds and visits to the next box (and have been for weeks) we're lucky if we get 4 or 5 eggs a day. The 5 new girls we've only had about a months from Point-of-Lay so maybe they haven't started yet. We wondered whether it could be down to the layer pellets we're giving them. We had to change where we get them from but that must be about 12 months ago now. It just seems strange that over the summer when we should have been getting a regular supply we haven't! Does anyone think changing the pellets will make a difference or are they all pretty much made up of the same thing?

[Mo]

I wonder if they are egg eating. Have you noticed any cracked eggs or eggs with yolk on them.
It is a right pain if they start that.
As they are older maybe the eggshells are thinner. In which case limestone flour and cod-liver oil might help (and deter a hen in search of an easy meal).
There have been various threads on here about egg-eating.
Are you around during the day to watch which hens go in to the nest, and to rescue the egg as soon as it's laid. Also to see if the new hens are laying. When you know what's going on you might have a better idea what to do. If it's just the old hens 4 or 5 from 7 doesn't sound too bad now that the days are getting shorter.

[kitla]

make sure there arent redmite in the coop, that wont help. Perhaps try some poultry vits in the water as moulting han be quite harsh on them sometimes. I sometimes found my purebreds stopped laying after autumn moults & didnt start again till spring.