First eggs but lost a hen

[gorobi17]

We have various types of hens 3-4 mos old. We got our first egg from a speckled Hamburg about 17 weeks old. She did not perk up. The next day another egg but she died about 2 hours later. The shells were great. Eggs look good but I need to learn as this is my first batch of hens. We had a heat wave maxed out at 110°. I froze fruit and kept them watered. She may have stopped eating her feed and gobbled up the watermelon. The next hen to lay is not as perky now. Her egg was again hard shell, good egg. They were on grower feed until this week changed over to layer now. They have grit, scratch and layer feed. They are free to roam but live in a hoop coop.

Anything I can do differently? Thank you!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Keep them cooler! My guess is your hens are probably getting heat stroke while sitting in the coop waiting for eggs to lay.

Make sure your hoop coop is in shade with a good cross breeze.

Place pans of water for them to stand in. I've even ran the sprinkler. (My son-in-law, an organic farmer in TN, where they get HOT summers, keeps a permanent misting system to keep the birds cool).

Make sure water is not in the sun but in a cool area they can get to without walking across sun.

Hopefully your days will cool off a bit. It's tough on a hen when she begins to lay. It's even harder when she's sitting a long time in a hot coop.

My thoughts.
LofMc

 

[gorobi17]

Thank God it's cooler now but as soon as we warm up again I will turn on the mister. I guess I thought if they made it thru the heat we were safe but not so much. Ty for the kind reply.

Keep them cooler! My guess is your hens are probably getting heat stroke while sitting in the coop waiting for eggs to lay.

Make sure your hoop coop is in shade with a good cross breeze.

Place pans of water for them to stand in. I've even ran the sprinkler. (My son-in-law, an organic farmer in TN, where they get HOT summers, keeps a permanent misting system to keep the birds cool).

Make sure water is not in the sun but in a cool area they can get to without walking across sun.

Hopefully your days will cool off a bit. It's tough on a hen when she begins to lay. It's even harder when she's sitting a long time in a hot coop.

My thoughts.
LofMc