I have had my oldest 4 chickens for over 3 years now, and the past month they have started molting for the first time. Is this normal? Because of their age, I'm a little worried about them doing well through the molt - one especially seems like she feels a little rough. I'm offering 20% protein food in addition to their normal layer feed to try to help support them through it. Any other suggestions?
Some hens tend to do more partial molts, where they don't really drop many feathers at once, so they don't really ever look that ragged... could be that is what your girls have done the past couple of years. Hens that are in really bad molts often act really cranky and don't seem to feel well, so it could just be that she is undergoing a hard molt. But would give the hen that is acting under the weather a really good going over to be sure something else isn't going on ... here is a link to a nice check list to go over http://www.communitychickens.com/9-point-comb-to-toe-chicken-check-up-diy-antiseptic-ointment/ I do the same thing you are, up the protein % of their feed when they are in molt. Nice article on molting. http://www.thepoultrysite.com/articles/217/moulting-a-natural-process