Sounds like your lead deserves a raise and that multimeter deserves a funeral.

Nine eggs from four hens is a lot, and that part makes me scratch my head. Daylight does matter, that's real, hens need around 14 hours of light to keep laying well. But 15 feet under a maple versus the southeast corner is not a huge jump in light, and you went from 2 to 9 in three weeks. That jump is too big for shade alone. Four hens laying 9 a day means some are dropping two eggs in a day, which almost never happens. What else changed at the same time? New bedding, different feed batch, a predator scare that stopped, mites getting cleared up, a molting cycle ending. Those things swing egg counts way more than a short move. I would look at the timing of the molt before I gave all the credit to the sun.

I've moved cars three times and every single cheap quote I got was missing something. Fuel, insurance, or they wanted a deposit upfront before locking anything in. That said, the broker telling you this while also being the guy who wants your business is kinda funny to me. It's like a car salesman saying don't trust car salesmen, but buy from me though. The breakdown thing is real though, always ask for it in writing before you commit to anything.