How close are our girls to laying?

2 weeks ago we had some bad news, Kiev died. She had not been looking too well for a couple of days and then we found her dead in the chicken house in the morning. Very sad. We are unsure why it happened. The symptoms were that she had a wet vent and was sneezing. At first she was eating and drinking fine and seemed quite well in herself. We thought this just had a chill and would recover. Unfortunately a day later she went down hill quick and was looking very lethargic. The next morning she had died. RIP Kiev!

The other girls are looking healthy, although we haven't had any eggs yet. The girls are 25 and a half weeks old, but we know that the time of year may delay them starting to lay. They do look more mature now though so I keep checking every day! If anyone has any advice regarding the death or whether our remaining chickens are near to laying yet that would be great.

Caroline posing for the camera



Nugget enjoying the sunshine



Snowy (behind caroline)



All the girls scratching in the leaves




Admiring their hard work in building a dustbath. They really like this corner as it catches the sun.



Nugget perching on the dustbath that we provided.