Cochin stopped laying! Too hot?

[laurenjoers]

Hello all! I have a Partridge Cochin, just shy of a year old! She was a good layer through her first winter and spring; smallish brown eggs but very consistent; always 6 or 7 a week. She did go broody in May and stopped laying, but we were able to isolate her and snap her out of it pretty quickly, and she started laying again after about a week and a half. However, I have noticed she stopped laying again! She’s definitely not broody, and she seems normal in all other areas: still eating, drinking, running, dusting, and foraging. I feel like I would have noticed something else or she would be dead by now if she was egg bound, although I can’t say I have directly seen her poop. What I think is the problem is that it’s been a super duper hot June for them. I’m in Southeastern Wisconsin, and we’ve had 85-90 degree days every single day with full sun, so it often feels even hotter. They have good ventilation in their run, plenty of cold and fresh water, all-day shade, dirt to dust in to keep cool, and I’ve even been giving them frozen fruit instead of corn and scratch to attempt to limit their carbs, but their mouths are still open most of the day and I see them pant sometimes. We have two hens, and the other stopped laying because she is broody again. Just wondering if it’s for sure the heat? Asking if anyone has any experience with lack of production in the summer, especially heavier and fluffier breeds like Cochins, or if I should be worried that it’s something else.

Too long; didn’t read: My year-old Cochin stopped laying, assuming from the sudden high temperatures, and I’m wondering if anyone has any experience or thinks it’s something else.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Cochin aren't a high production breed. Most lay for a few weeks than stop for a few weeks.

 

[Percheron chick]

Not uncommon for egg production to go down in the hotter months.