Chickens losing feathers in summer, one sudden death

[jefulford]

Some members of my flock have lost some chest feathers. One girl has some neck feathers missing. They’re not acting strange or grumpy. A couple of days ago, out of no where, one girl suddenly died. No signs of animal attack, pecking, etc. She looked perfectly fine, just dead.
They’re 1.5 years old and and normally excellent layers. We introduced ducks into the flock a couple of months ago and switched the food to all-flock 17% protein. We regularly give them lawn clippings and dandelions.
Both our Rhode Island reds have this issue, some olive Eggers, but not many else. The one who died was an olive Egger.

We think it’s bad nutrition since they get along really well with each other and we haven’t found parasites.

 

[Eggcessive]

This could be from feather picking, but at their age, they may be starting their first big molt. Feather picking can be from overcrowding, too little protein, bullying, or aggressive breeds. During molting, you will see fallen feathers in the coop and run. They may mope around, eat less, and you can give them some scrambled egg for more protein. When a chicken dies, the best way to find a cause of death is to keep the body cool, and take it to the state vet for a necropsy. Here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[jefulford]

This could be from feather picking, but at their age, they may be starting their first big molt. Feather picking can be from overcrowding, too little protein, bullying, or aggressive breeds. During molting, you will see fallen feathers in the coop and run. They may mope around, eat less, and you can give them some scrambled egg for more protein. When a chicken dies, the best way to find a cause of death is to keep the body cool, and take it to the state vet for a necropsy. Here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

Is molting starting in July normal? I live in the north east United States but it’s still quite hot here.