Daily Egg Production Down

My daily egg production is way down. That's to be expected for this time of year and the age of my hens. From mid January to mid June I was getting 3 dozen eggs a day. But around June 25th I noticed a significant drop off in egg production. By July 4th I was getting only a half dozen of eggs daily. 

Today I gathered 9 eggs, more than I've been getting each day this past week. Yesterday I gathered only 5. 

Why the slowdown, you ask? My hens are mostly older birds. I've got a few young ones, which are most likely my egglayers right now. All the senior birds have stopped. That's just the way it is with old chickens. I do have some young girls that are 3-4 months old but it will be a few more months before they are old enough to start laying. 

What causes the slowdown? I suspect it's the short day length. The birds' diet and routine hasn't changed. The only change I can see is that the length of daylight is getting shorter. 

If I were primarily interested in egg production, I would buy two dozen new layer chicks every January. I would expect them to start laying just about now, taking up the slack. But eggs aren't my number concern. Instead, they're a bonus. So I happily take what I get and don't worry about it. 

Why do I keep these non-productive hens? Manure. It's my number one reason for keeping chickens. The pen litter goes into the compost, producing fertilizer for the gardens. Chickens can turn a lot of garbage, waste, and grass clippings into something very useful.