I have a dozen free range laying hens, who up until summer would consistently lay 9-10 eggs a day in average. I live in So California where our summer high temps are 100-106F. Summer came on fast this year, jumping from the high 80's to 104 degrees in a couple of weeks. The highs have stayed 102-105 for about 6-8 weeks straight. Where I am going with this is the first couple of weeks my egg production dropped to 3-4 per day for a week or so, then dropped to 2 a day for the last 3-4 weeks. Now I have had no eggs for the last 4 day. Also of note; During this time, I changed their nest boxes to roll away boxes, due to excessive egg pecking/eating. I have routinely inspected other area of the yard to see if they had started laying elsewhere, they have not. The oldest hens in the group are only 2 years old and they are a mix of RR, orppington's and sexlinks. I am not sure what my approach should be. I am at a point of dispatching them all and buying new layers. I hope someone out there has the answer. I did try cooping them up in the hen house for 3 days early on, which did not produce anymore eggs.
