Hot Weather = Less Eggs?

[Chickenberry]

It's been SOOO hot here. Anywhere from 104-111 the past several weeks. I have shade for my chickens, and they have fresh cool water each day. I feed them laying pellets, some scratch and a bunch of different scraps from the table. I'm still a newbie to chickens... does the heat effect egg productivity? I have 6 hens and went from getting 3-5 eggs a day to mostly now 0-1 a day! A BIG drop. Is there something I can do to help them?

 

[southerndesert]

Yes, I see that here in AZ each summer.... We have allot of hens so still get eggs. We use misters in the run where there is shade when it is very hot and keep fresh water available.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It's definitely the heat. I have a more serious production drop now than I ever see in winter.
Cut back on the scratch, it raises body temp.
Give them a pan of water to stand in to cool their legs and feet. A mister usually helps unless you have 95% humidity like we often do.
Dense shade is the best especially if they have a dust bathing place there. Keep in mind that 111 temp is measured in the shade.

 

[Frost Homestead]

yes it's the heat. All of mine stopped laying at the beginning of July. Since then a couple have started again but one of them still isn't laying. All of my chickens are under a year old and none are molting or broody so I'm chalking it up to this crazy heat.

 

[Ruth Ann]

We have had real hot summer...
I use frozen juice bottles in the run.
I just add new ones every few hours.
They will stand on them...lay on/or next too them
throughout the day.

 

[JPHorvath]

Yes, extreme heat, and cold temperatures, Sshorten daylight hours less then 12 hour per day will reduce egg production. This time of year here in the northeast hens are starting to molt new feathers this too will cause reduction in egg production. I have been giving our hens BOSS (Black Oil Sunflower Seeds) since spring. Extra proteins available in BOSS help with the molting process.

Oh yea ice in water will help a little, but their metabolism is still effected from ambient temperatures. You can do the ice, misters, fans and additional shade, but still expect egg production with extreme temperatures regardless of all you hard efforts to help keep them cool. All that will do is to keep them from dropping dead of heat stroke.

 

[Chickenberry]

Thank you all so much! Today by 4:50 we had 3 eggs.... that was more than we had had in a long time! They have shade and cool water... and I even have one Delaware that likes to get IN the water bucket! LOL....

 

[lucymarcysally]

It's been horribly hot here this season and my girls aren't laying very much either. They have plenty of shady places and extra water including a huge plant saucer of water that serves as a wading pool. I've just started making them corn-sickles to snack on. I did it last year and they seemed to like them. I put canned corn in muffin tins, fill with some water, freeze and then take them out of the muffin tin. Then I put a few in the area where they like to hide from the sun. the corn is always gone when I get home from work so I know they're snacking on their corn-sickles.