Many people keep chicken for eggs and if the chicken do not lay or lay below the expected number of eggs, farmers get frustrated.
There are underlying reasons that prevent birds from laying or make birds lay below expected. One most important factor is the breed. Your birds could be not laying or laying fewer eggs then expected because they are of a breed other than you thought they are for example; layers lay many eggs and begin laying eggs at week 22 and peak at week 36 up to week 56 while locals take longer than that to begin laying and lay fewer number of eggs.
Management factors
Nutrition: When your birds are not feeding on the right feed, they wont lay or will lay fewer eggs. Layers are supposed to be fed on layers‘ mash or feed rich in enzymes or hormones that promote egg production. This feed should be rich in calcium.
Environmental conditions: Production is higher in warm areas compared to cold areas. When environmental temperatures are low and your poultry pen gets cold too, production of the layers will be low because most of the feed eaten by the birds will be used by the birds to generate heat to keep their bodies warm.
Lighting programme: Giving your birds more lighting hours increases eggs production because it gives the birds more feeding hours but over increasing the lighting hours decreases the egg size.
Health factors
Health of the bird and medication. Sick birds get stressed, most of the food goes into production of white blood cells to fight the disease. Some medication makes birds stop laying for example if you deworm your birds, do not expect eggs for the next three days.
Stage / age of the bird. When birds are moulting, they have minimal or low egg production.
