Have my hens stopped laying because they are moulting??

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We aquired 3 isa brown hens around a month ago. After two days they had layed 8 eggs between them. I believe they hold eggs when they are moved so I presume this is why we got so many, but in the three weeks since then we have only had 4 eggs! I have read that they normally lay around 300 a year and they are less than a year old so I thought they should be laying more than this!
Two of them have very scraggley looking necks and I wander if this is because it is nearly autumn and they are moulting? My boyfreind thinks it is our cockerel who is a bit of a bully when it comes to feeding time, and maybe he is pecking at there necks and that is why they look so scraggley? The other hen is in beautiful condition which is strange.
They live on an island in the middle of a river which only we have access to my boat, so we know there are no foxes or any other nasty beasts but we do have a lot of very large river rats, which are vegetarian and won't attack the chickens but they do LOVE eggs, so maybe they are stealing them!
I don't want to get rid of the cockerel (Old Reggey Reg) as he is huge and really does look after them the rest of the time. Is it more likely that he is the problem or are they just moulting? There are quite alot of their feathers around, but I don't know if this is the right time of year. We live in South France so I don't know if this makes a difference?
Please let me know your thoughts.
 
How old are the chickens, do they sleep in a hen house at night - mites, lice etc can all stop a hen from laying
 
We stopped in Lot two years ago and saw the biggest rats ever on a small island in the river. Could have easily eaten a chicken so eggs no problem. I would say it is the moult, as they moult wings and neck first. But it could be a frisky cockerel pulling them out. There are other things it could be but look for new feathers growing first. If none post again. Hens get stressed when they are moved, lay a few eggs and then stop for a few weeks before getting accustomed to their new surroundings and laying again. Is that island OK for flooding?
 
hi, welcome to the forum :-)99 :-)99 :-)99
seams to be early moulting this year, my hens have now stopped laying and are moulting, what are they fed on? layers pellets v. important.
 
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