Bad molt?

[ashyndin]

My flock is all around the same age so they molted all pretty close to each other. It just so happened that it was in the dead of winter. My flock looks pretty rough right now. About how long can I expect this to last and is there anything I can do to help? Such as lots of available ash or dust for them?

 

[Judy]

You can give them some nutritional support. If they aren't laying, they don't need the supplemental calcium in layer right now. They could use some extra protein to grow new feathers, though. One way to do this is to switch to game bird feed temporarily. Animal protein supplement is a good idea, too. Mealworms are just one way to do this. Boiled eggs work well. Many people use cat food, but it is high in methionine which is definitely not good for them, so I would use this sparingly if at all. I buy canned mackerel now and then for mine as it is relatively cheap.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chickens-loosing-feathers-managing-your-flocks-molt

 

[ashyndin]

they never really stopped laying during this i and still getting a good average of eggs. i will start adding some additional protein.