Price of eggs in Hefei,East China's Anhui Province, rises as hens refuse to lay eggs in the hot weather. Screenshot of Sina.com

Recently, residents from Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, complained to the media outlets about the rising price of eggs. After thorough investigation, it turns out that the weather was so hot that the hens had developed a stress response and were not laying eggs to serve the market. Due to this reason, some farmers in Hefei have equipped their hens with air conditioners to cool them down. However, hens in Hefei still produce 2 to 3 percent fewer eggs than when the weather was cooler.

According to the local merchants, compared with June, the price of eggs in July and August rose about 30 percent. Staff members from Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Office of Hefei Agriculture and Rural Bureau explained that when the summer is particularly hot, hens will show some stress reactions and refuse to lay eggs. Similarly, the milk production rate of milk cows and the farrowing rate of pigs are also relatively decreased in hot season, which is a normal physiological phenomenon of animals. "Farmers can also take steps to avoid this, such as cooling down the coop and adjusting the time of feeding," a staff member said.

"Even humans don't want to work in this weather, let alone hens," a netizen joked.