Why have they stopped laying now?Help??

[bossynbella]

I will try to keep this short but want to be sure to include anything that might be relevent.
We have a flock of around 45 hens 9 of which are bantams and 2 of which are probably to old to lay. The others include 3 Barred Rocks who will be 2 this June and a ton of young pullets we got from mcmurray last june. Some of these 3 faverolles, 1 brahma and 4 cochins I know are not laying yet but about a month ago we where getting 7+ eggs a day. Then we had a few nice days and poof they stopped laying last Wednesday. On Tuesday the day before we got only one, Monday we had 5 and Sunday we had 4.
From Then on we have had no eggs. Not one. WHY!!! It is spring!
We had our goats in with them from last nov. Still I thought maybe they where bothering the chickens so we took the goats out. Nothing. I thought maybe they need more light... Added More Saturday... Still Nothing!
Anyone else have this happen? I could understand if it was fall or even if a few where still laying but NOTHING? Could something be taking the eggs? Our dogs keep just about everything away, and have never been known to nab eggs before. We have found no shells, no yolk NOTHING!
To top it all off DH said I could start my incubator. What am I suppose to incubate! I pleaded with them! Come on I said just lay an egg and I will hatch it for you! All Eggs layed this week will be incubated I promised! Still NO EGGS!

Anyway sorry to ramble but I just have never had this happen before,we have never had more then a flock of 10 before and still at least one would be laying at a time.
Help!!

 

[twotmama]

MY chickens have not stopped laying and they are even trying to sit they are so confused because of the wheather. There was ice on the ground and they were laying, but chickens can be very tempermental. Have you moved them or changed their environment lately? Are you feeding them laying mash and oyster shell? I t seems to me the warmer and the more I feed mine and leave them alone the more they seem to lay.

 

[Herechickychick]

You should keep looking all over the coop to see if they're laying a corner or somthing. I once heard of someone's chickens "stop" laying, but she eventually found 25 egg in a corner where the she thought the chickens couldnt fit. And another one was laying in the bag of shavings. So just check if they're laying where they're not supposed to. Good luck!

 

[ScoobyRoo]

Do they get to free range? If so, they have a hiding place somewhere, I bet.

 

[bossynbella]

They do free range during the day and that is what I was thinking too. But we kept them shut up for two days and still no eggs. We have not changed anything. After we had not gotten eggs for 4 days we took our two goats out of there thinking that might of been the problem. I did get one banty egg yesterday. They really don't go very far from the garage. unless there is no snow on the ground like today.
I have checked all over in there coop. They are getting laying mesh I have never fed oystershell because they have never needed it they seem to get plenty from there laying feed and the egg shells I give them I might buy some today though because for some reason they do not want to eat the laying feed lately. We had been feeding them some from Triangle feeds for 6+ months but the last month they will not eat it or not much of it anyway they still follow us around like they are starving and there feeders will be full. We will be buying some layer feed from Thiesens today I don't know if that will make a difference or not but I am going to try it. They only want corn right now. We use to mix some into the feed (in winter) but they where picking the corn out and not eating the feed so I stopped even putting it in this last week. I feel like if they eat more of the layer feed maybe they will lay!
I want eggs to put in my incubator!!!!!
Thanks keep the suggestions coming
Melissa