Hens have stopped laying

[mydakota]

I have a mixed breed flock of 7 hens. 2 of these are actually young pullets who have not yet started to lay. Of the other 5, up until about 10 days ago, I was getting anywhere from 3 to 5 eggs a day, which I thought was pretty good. About that time, one of my older hens started to go broody. She stopped laying. Egg production of the whole flock dipped. Yesterday, I removed her from the flock to a separate pen with no nesting material. She seems to be breaking up already, but the day I removed her, (yesterday) I only got one egg. Today so far there have been none. Is this normal? When one hen goes broody, does the whole flock derail? Also, she has been making a few strange vocalizations, one of which sounds almost (but not quite) like a sneeze. Is that a normal volcalization? Or could she be sick? She doesn't seem sick at all otherwise. Just trying to figure out why my egg production has crashed and burned. They get free choice layer pellets, scratch, and oyster shell for their diet, plus a few table scraps here and there. Plenty of water at all times. We have had a bit of a heat wave, but they were producing well in the heat 2 weeks ago. Not sure what I am doing wrong or missing. Any help appreciated.

 

[mydakota]

Anybody?

 

[Schroeder]

Alot of people are talking about how the heat has negatively impacted egg production. I have 7 hens, one of which goes broody all the time. There never has been a noticeable change in the laying pattern of the others. However, since the 2 weeks of 90 degree heat my average eggs per day has dropped from 5 or 6, to 2 or 3. I have had a couple of days with none. I'm guessing your issue is related to the heat of the summer.