Fried Eggs, Anyone?

Poor Lizzie's having a hard time with the heat... she's sitting in the nest box and it's 99 degrees outside.  I propped the top of the box open to make it a little more comfortable.  I don't know how long Lizzie sat there, but finally she gave up laying and left. I noticed she'd tried again, and had laid an egg later in the afternoon when the temperature went down a bit.
Chickens don't sweat, so just like dogs they pant to cool themselves down. Sometimes they will lift their wings, where the feathers are not as thick, to help with the heat.  A chicken's metabolism just runs hot naturally. If you feel the bottom of her feet, they are very, very warm!
We have a shady place in the backyard under some very tall camellias where they the hens like to flop down for a siesta. It's about ten degrees cooler there than in the rest of the yard.
 Chicken's do NOT do well in the heat!