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They stop laying when they molt. If they feel safer in your yard, that's likely where they'll go to lay. Instinctively they know they need shelter and food for their chicks.

Now that they're getting decent food, their molting should go much faster and easier and you'll start getting eggs again. My guess is that those three were the only hens capable of laying under their living conditions.

My old rooster did. I thought there was something wrong with him the first few times. Then I figured out he made that noise when one of the girls was in the nesting box. Since he always did it away from the coop, I figure he was drawing attention away from the nest.

Put a few large plant pots or milk crates in a protected location, give them good bedding, and you may see eggs.