Will They Lay Soon?? (New layers)

[KikiDeAnime]

I noticed yesterday that 2 of our almost 1 yr old hens that never laid last year were looking through the 'favorite' nesting box and kicking the straw around. I had already seen a few of the almost 2 yr old hens were doing their thing and knew that they'd lay soon but have been confused about the younger ones.

Will the 2 new layers start laying soon? (Bantam Cochins)

Out of the three hens that are almost 1 yr old, only Sparrow(R Sex Link) had laid eggs last year so I expect her to lay around the same or close to the same time as the older hens.

When should our other 3 lay this year? We have 1 Blue Wyandotte, 1 Olive Egger, and 1 Buff Orpington. The Wyandotte is around 6 months old while the other 2 are around 5 months old. I knew that because of winter, they wouldn't lay so soon.

 

[aart]

They'll lay when they are ready.
Scratching around in a nest is a pretty good sign that it will be very soon.

Here's some tips on how to tell.....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

 

[KikiDeAnime]

They'll lay when they are ready.
Scratching around in a nest is a pretty good sign that it will be very soon.

Here's some tips on how to tell.....
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/who-is-laying-and-who-is-not-butt-check.73309/

Not to be rude but I'm not checking their butt.
Should I check to see if they squat for me?

 

[aart]

Not to be rude but I'm not checking their butt.
Should I check to see if they squat for me?

Yeah, yeah... I know, seems kind of gross....butt(haha!) it's a pretty important part of the birds anatomy and every chicken keeper should become familiar with it. Learn how to see it, know what's normal and what's not, as eventually you'll have to take care of problems 'back there' and it will be much easier if you already have some experience.
Having coming of age pullets is the best time to learn, and one of the best ways to know if they are close to laying. Not all birds will squat for the human in charge.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Waiting is the hardest part!