WHERE ARE MY BO'S LAYING OR HAVE THEY STOPPED? HELP!!!!

This may pose a challenge (or not!)
My Maran wnet broody and is on her 8 eggs, and all of the sudden, my 2 BO's have either stopped laying or are hiding their eggs!!
They have used the same nesting sites for 6 months, are not molting (that I can tell) there are no predators, no feed changes. I have searched every possible place, unless they are laying in the tree's!!!! I am stumped! Could they be laying in the open pasture or the open field that has cows walking by everyday? Anyone heard of hens who were GREAT layers suddenly stop laying or suddenly changing their nesting sites? They are NOT sitting on their eggs as they are running around the property all day and the eggs are not under my broody hen- I checked!

Any ideas? Suggestions?

Thanks to everyone for your help and wisdom...........

You can check this Virginia Extension site for clues. I wonder if the hen going broody has somehow upset the dynamics of the flock, either in them stopping laying or are hiding their nest. If your Maran is safely isolated, I'd suspect an egg eating predator, maybe rats, or an egg eating hen. If a rat is eating the eggs, a hen will eat the egg shell.


http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/2902/2902-1097/2902-1097.pdf

suzette, you can determine if they are laying by feeling the pelvic bones under the vent. If you can place 3 fingertips between the bones, they are laying. Less than 3 means they are not.....Pop

Check under your Maran for "extra" eggs and let us know...

Still havent found any eggs. I am still finding one EE egg under my Maran everyday, but no BO eggs anywhere!

I DO recall that just before I stopped finding BO eggs, I did see an BO egg that had rolled a little bit away from the nest, not far, maybe 6 inches- but there was a hole the size of a dime in it. That happened twice, and since then, no more eggs. I have 2 BO's and they both lay in different places (or did before they stopped laying) so I'm not sure they are eating the eggs. How can I catch them at it and stop them when they are possibly laying in some hidden spot?

I will be checking out that site Ridgerunner. Funny, I was wondering if her going broody would have an effect on the other hens. I am worried about her now since today when she went out to streatch her legs, the BO's kinda were harrassing her. I hope they dont harrass the new chicks. Maybe I'm just being hyper-sensitive to every little thing, but I cant help it! Not only are they fascinating, I love them!

Lollipop- I am curious about the idea of feeling around the vent for the pelvic bones- could I get a more detailed explanation of the process?

If my hubby found out I was considering palpating the rear of my chickens, he would think I was cracking up!!

Thanks you guys- I am really grateful to you all for taking the time to answer my questions!!

I just love seeing others with the name Suzette.... I also have hens who stopped laying for a while....Suzette of promiselandfarm

An egg with a dime-sized hole in it sure sounds like an egg eater to me... Check your BO's (and the rest of your chickens) for any dried "evidence" on their faces, yolk on the beak, etc.

Someone posted on here that you could test to see if the chickens are egg eaters by rolling an egg in front of them. If they "go for it", they are egg eaters. Not sure how accurate this is, but I have seen that once you have a hen that is an egg eater, it's pretty much "game over" for her - you will never see another egg out of her, because she will eat them before you can get them!

Hey TULIE13- Thanks for the tip @ showing an egg to the hens........It worked like a charm Unfortunately now I have an ugly task in front of me.

For anyone interested this is what I did-

I waited till all my hens were foraging together in the front yard and put an 'eating' egg in the grass where they all could see it. Mind you, there was plenty of chicken food and fresh water out in several different places, so the 'I was hungry' defense was not an option......
All the hens and the rooster could see the egg and only BO hens went straight to it and started pecking the egg. The roo and the EE hens just kinda watched and actually just kept pecking the grass for other food. I am soooo bummed cuz my BO's were really good layers, I was getting about 15-18 eggs a month out of each one, and nice sizes on the eggs too.
Well, I hope the birds taste good......................

Someone else posted this as a "cure" to eggeaters:

Very simple to cure, get yourself an egg, put a small hold in either end and blow out all the contents, leaving just the shell. Wash this out a few time and leave to dry.

After it has dried, get a syringe and fill it up with mustard, and fill the egg with it, so you have a "mustard egg" (make a few). Place this egg in the nest box where they lay. You egg eating hen will see this and start to peck at it, when it tastes the mustard it will stop. Repeat this for a week, and your hen will never peck eggs again.

You might try this before relegating the BO's to "soup status".

Quote:
If you consider the tail to be "over" the vent, then think of the bones to be "under" the vent. You don`t have to get your fingers dirty, just feel around about 1/2- 1 inch below the vent. Like I said, 3 finger tips between the and the hen is laying, 2 or less and she isn`t. It`s easier than it sounds........Pop