Very few eggs this year

[Anonymous]

Hi, I have a couple of chickens which we have had for 2 years now. They were POl when we got them. They live in an Eglu and have an acre of garden to roam in the afternoons. The first year we had trouble keeping up with all the eggs. Production slowed as we expected in the Autumn but has never really picked up again. Instead of about 6 eggs each per week they have only been producing 1-3 a week. Is this to be expected? I had assumed that production would tail off as they got older but 1 year seems a bit quick! I have to say that we did have 3 chickens and one died earlier this year. She hadn't been right for a few weeks and finally died. The others have been eating and running around perfectly happily though.

Any advice?

 

[pebojuno]

Hi gnashercat,
Egg production will always decrease as the chickens get older. It also does depend on the breed you are keeping.
Many hybrids are bred for high production over a very short space of time- then after about 18 months they would be disposed of so they are not bred to be productive over a long period of time.
Most pure breeds give less eggs in those first 18 months than the hybrids but many will lay well for longer so to speak!