Heat wave and first time layers

[Abborgialli]

Hi all- I have a couple of questions and a bit of a predicament.

We live in an arid region, but temps will break 99° - 100° next week for 1-3 days, with no rain.
*My hens have windows in their coop (which is white)
*they have shade in the side walls of their run
*A deep dust bath (not in the photos but they have big kiddie pool)
*shade screens over their run (regular tarps do not allow for ventilation)
*2 -7 gallon waterers, one I plan to add electrolytes to, and one I plan to keep plain

This is my first run of pullets, and one of my hens started squatting yesterday. I am fearful she may lay in the heat, and die. I worry she will go broody and not get the electrolytes she needs and food she needs. She is a RIR. (The is the RIR included in the pullet-pile photo).

Our roosters are not sexually mature yet so I am not concerned about babies.

***The crux- we leave for 7 days when it is supposed to be the hottest.***

*how long is it that hens start laying after they start exhibiting squatting behavior?
*I know people deal with significantly hotter temps in HUMID regions- should I be concerned? We are in Wyoming.
*I know they are resilient. Any reassurances will help. They have made it with 95°-97° So far this summer.
*if anyone does lay at these temps, how well do eggs keep?

And no, we don't have a chicken nanny- they are on their own. We have traveled several times so the travel is the least of my concern.

Thank you in advance. Photos included for reference.

 

[2ndTink]

There's a lot of variables with chickens, from squatting to laying 1 to 3 weeks, from first egg to second egg, 1 day to 1 month.

If you come home to eggs, they can't be more than 7 days old, so in theory they should be safe, but you can float test them in water.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This is my first run of pullets, and one of my hens started squatting yesterday. I am fearful she may lay in the heat, and die. I worry she will go broody and not get the electrolytes she needs and food she needs. She is a RIR. (The is the RIR included in the pullet-pile photo).

Our roosters are not sexually mature yet so I am not concerned about babies.

***The crux- we leave for 7 days when it is supposed to be the hottest.***

*how long is it that hens start laying after they start exhibiting squatting behavior?

Some never squat. I would have guessed closer to one week but 1 to 3 is as good as my guess.

*I know people deal with significantly hotter temps in HUMID regions- should I be concerned? We are in Wyoming.

Provide water, shade, and ventilation. The water needs to be clean. The wading pool can help. That's about all you can do and it should be enough. To me, dirty water is your biggest risk.

*I know they are resilient. Any reassurances will help. They have made it with 95°-97° So far this summer.

Rhode Island Reds hardly ever go broody, though some do. Some pullets can and do go broody their first laying season but a lot don't until their second laying season. Hens tend to lay a clutch of eggs before they go broody. That is not going to happen in 7 days. Do not worry about her going broody while you are gone. The odds against that are astronomical.

*if anyone does lay at these temps, how well do eggs keep?

As long as bacteria does not get inside the shell they are not going to go bad. If the eggs are fertile they may start to develop some at those temperatures but they should not go bad.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Can you put a soaker hose on a timer? That would guarantee a cool, wet area that would provide them with clean drinking water. I have my chickens in an orchard, and they drink from the drip lines which run for 2 hours twice a day to beat this heat. We got up to 107 and my first hen started laying during the second week of the heat wave. They all got through the worst of it just fine, as long as I sprayed around the shady area with water.