Where did my eggs go??

[Oppe Family]

We started with 6 very sweet gals who were then 16 to 18 week when we got them. One got attacked by a cat and die so she was replaced.My husband being the chicken person too decided we needed more so 2 more got added to the family and then we wanted more variety we got 2 4 month old brahama chicks. I digress we started getting eggs around 20 to 22 weeks of age from 3 of them and the others gradually followed except one whom I suspect may have been a little younger than the rest cause she just started laying this past week.
About 3 weeks ago we had a ton of rain for a week or so straight and they all seemed to come down with colds and were snotty I guess you could say and almost sounded like they had coughs too. Well our weather turned sunny and warm I put probiotics in the water for a week and that seemed to help but during this time we were getting 5-6 eggs a day and it dwindled down to we are luck to 1 or maybe 2 a day! I know that when chickens bodies are stressed they don't lay as much or not at all. My poor girls are now at risked of being put in retirement not culled and replaced with fresh layers. I love our girls I was just wondering if the cold they got might have really knocked laying eggs out of them?? Help I'm eggless we live on there eggs and boy do my boys miss it. Anyone have any ideas what to do???

please any ideas welcome

 

[Judy]

Chickens don't get colds. Some of the respiratory diseases they get can interfere with egg laying.

http://www.welphatchery.com/poultry_health.asp

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/1/egg-quality-handbook/11/egg-defects

 

[Oppe Family]

If they go on med and get better will there egg production come back like it was??