Eating less during a molt?

[Pet Duck Boy]

My little EE hen hasn't laid in a month, and just recently she started molting pretty good. She's eating 70% less of her feed, just a few pecks here an there. She's been getting extra help finding her insects, and she gets a helpful handful of mealworms a day. Along with an hour or more outside in the yard. 3 handfulls of BOSS, too. So is it normal? I kinda expected her to eat even more during a molt...she ate a lot when she was laying.

 

[Baymule]

My 2 SLW hens are doing the same thing. One has completed her molt, her comb is colored non-production pink. The other is naked in patches and not laying either. They no longer go nuts for greens, bread, scratch, or other goodies. They have cut way back on their feed comsumption. I have given them cat food for the protein to help grow back their feathers and it has worked on the one hen, all glossy and healthy. Good luck with yours.

 

[Pet Duck Boy]

BUMP - Still eating less feed. I'm sure it doesn't help that she's the lowest rank; she can't get within 2 feet from two certain chickens without being ran off or pecked. Loves her treats and foraging out in the yard, though.