Switched to all flock - ducks stopped laying completely

[Gracehaven]

We have a dozen laying hens and a dozen laying ducks, and a drake. We recently merged the flock with a batch of younger chickens and ducks we raised this year. (We had them in two separate coops but one was not as secure and we lost a couple to predators, so we are now homing them together at night. They free range during the day.)

Because of all of them eating together we switched to All Flock feed. Immediately our adult ducks have all but stopped laying eggs.

We have oyster shell available separately.

Has anyone experienced this with all flock feed and ducks? Or could it be the change having all these new birds in the coop? The chickens lay eggs during the day, but in the past the ducks would lay at night so we would open the coop up and gather the eggs. The chickens have continued to produce, slightly less but not atypically.

Grateful for any ideas!

 

[Krugerrand]

Are you 100% certain you don't have a predator eating the eggs? Rat? Snake? Skunk? Opossum?

 

[Gracehaven]

Are you 100% certain you don't have a predator eating the eggs? Rat? Snake? Skunk? Opossum?

I am confident. Our coop is obsessively lined with hardware cloth.

Another thing I notice is that the ducks used to all lay eggs at night (or early morning) and then would be out all day free ranging or in the water. Now nearly all the layers return to the coop and sit on their nest boxes as if they're laying eggs - but when I check them, nothing.

I don't think they're all broody at once because we have one duck who CLEARLY is broody and when I enter the coop the others will jump up and exit besides that one.

 

[Krugerrand]

Great that you can rule that out .... but sadly that's the extent of what I can come up with. Hopefully somebody else can offer something better.

 

[PhantomSlayer]

How long since the last egg? I read ducks are cautious so the addition of other poultry could have stressed them to the point of not laying. But I would think it would just take time for them to start again. Also could it be possible their just laying while free ranging since their space is no longer just them? It's possible since the chickens now lay there that they found a new safe place to lay and your not finding it?

How much protein is in the new food compared to the old feed?