do chickens stop laying in the heat?

[xanaxnation]

i have 3 girls, 1yr old each. the orpington went broody about a month ago so i slipped 2 chicks under her and she took to them great (3 days ago). the 3 big girls share the coop and theyve always laid on the floor, even with a nest box in there. for the last 2 days, the other girls havent laid, or theyve laid elsewhere in the yard and i cant find them. any ideas? the mama hen let them in the coop to lay the whole time she was broody, she had actually stopped laying and was sitting on the others hens' eggs (all of which are blanks since we dont have a roo). the last 2 days the only difference has been the heat. its getting a little warmer, i think we hit 96 today. should i start tearing the yard apart looking for eggs? or did they stop because of the heat or the new chicks? any ideas are appreciated. thanks!!

 

[greathorse]

The heat sure can cause problems with laying. Some breeds do better than others. If you looked up breed attributes you could likely discover if yours are tolerant to heat or not.

 

[xanaxnation]

hm.. the orpington i figure isnt laying because she went broody. the other 2 are an austrolorp and a blue andolusian.. ill check in to the breeds.. thanks