Is my egg amount normal?

[NatJ]

They lay all day long, they’re often not done until 4pm. Some days I go in at 4 and there are still chickens laying eggs. So keeping them in the coop would be a little hard.

What does the laying time have to do with keeping them shut in the coop?

The common advice to lock them in is assuming that feed and water are available in the coop, and that the coop is big enough that the chickens can stay in for several days without it being a big deal. If that is the case, just leave them shut in and see how many eggs you get.

 

[SourRoses]

Other animals also eat eggs. Like goannas.

We don't have Goannas over here but you're right in that Possums come to steal eggs!

OP, you said they get scratch and mealworms as well as their feed... about what percentage of their diet?
Scratch is such low protein that it can drive down their total protein consumption, and since you're starting at a 17% feed, that's not far to go before it's too low. Studies have found low protein can reduce laying rate and egg size.

As for how normal that productivity is, at this time of year, count your 1 year old hens as the number of eggs you should be getting most days.
Even with less productive breeds I usually get about 5 eggs a week per hen. Some can even be every day layers. It's more a matter of whether they are in lay, and how long it takes them to go broody. It's spring, hormones are in the air... are you sure more of those late day layers are not broody or trying to be? (I have two silly wannabe broodies who think they only need to spend half their time on the nest, but it's enough to halt their egg production).

 

[RcoM]

We don't have Goannas over here but you're right in that Possums come to steal eggs!

OP, you said they get scratch and mealworms as well as their feed... about what percentage of their diet?
Scratch is such low protein that it can drive down their total protein consumption, and since you're starting at a 17% feed, that's not far to go before it's too low. Studies have found low protein can reduce laying rate and egg size.

As for how normal that productivity is, at this time of year, count your 1 year old hens as the number of eggs you should be getting most days.
Even with less productive breeds I usually get about 5 eggs a week per hen. Some can even be every day layers. It's more a matter of whether they are in lay, and how long it takes them to go broody. It's spring, hormones are in the air... are you sure more of those late day layers are not broody or trying to be? (I have two silly wannabe broodies who think they only need to spend half their time on the nest, but it's enough to halt their egg production).

Hi Souroses, just a quick question about scratch mix. It may vary depending where you were getting it from. Mine looks to be quite high in protein due to a lot of sunflower seed – black type. Now be checking my scratch mix to see what the percentage is if possible