Would heat affect onset of egglaying?

[Chickidee216]

I've got 13 hens all of which have been brought red in there comes and wattles for about 2 weeks now. They've been squatting and a couple of them even squatting for my rooster for the better part of a week and still NOTHING! No eggs...ugh. I live in Texas and it's been in the upper 90s with heat indexes above 100 for the last couple weeks. Could this been why they haven't started laying yet? All the signs are there! What's happening!

A small sampling of my 13 free-loading slackers

 

[BuffOrpington88]

Yep, it's probably the heat. It makes the hens stressed, which reduces their egglaying. When it cools down, they'll probably start laying. In the meantime, they might start if they stay cool. Just make sure there's plenty of ventilation in the coop, and putting ice cubes in the waterer or giving them frozen watermelon may help. You could even put a fan or mister out there if you'd like! Good luck!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some can take up to a month after they start squatting. Yours look close. Rhode island reds seem to take their time starting and are slow to mature. Heat affects seasoned layers but I don't know if it would interfere with the start of laying as that's mostly hormonal.