Hens suddenly stopped laying, please help

[Gwibbles]

We have 20 laying hens a mix of 1 year old RIRs, Auraucanas, and Austrolorps, as well as 8 pullets. We were getting 10-15 eggs a day, but now the number has dropped to 0-2! This is our third year raising chickens and this has never happened to us before. Usually the ti
me around the summer solstice is our biggest time of production, but our hens were laying almost 18 eggs a day in February and now nothing.

Nothing has changed in their environment as far as I can tell. In fact, we've tried fencing them in and then when that didn't work, locking them in their coop, but the numbers haven't changed. I don't think they are molting, because I haven't see the tell-tale feathers about.

In the last few months we have switched them to Countryside Soy-free Layer Feed. I did notice a slight drop in production when we switched from the crumbles, maybe from 15-18 to 12 or so. But along with theCountryside we are also feeding some scratch.

I just don't know what to do! Should we switch back to the crumble? Should we find a different organic brand? What could be going on?

 

[ThinkingChickens]

I might offer a different food, more oyster shell, make sure the water is fresh daily. Are you sure they haven't found a place to lay somewhere outside of their confines?

 

[OkieKristi]

Not sure where you live, but I am in Oklahoma, and we have had one of the hottest Junes in history. It has been over 100 degrees several days, and for the last 2 weeks, I only have one EE hen who is laying. I am assuming heat stress, as I have a friend with the same problem. I have been trying several things to cool them down during the day, but no luck yet.

 

[Gwibbles]

We're in VA. It's been hot, but not excessively so, temps in the high 80s to mid 90s

We have considered that they have been hiding them, hopefully locking them in will shed some light on that