Molt question

So, it seems from looking randomly through some of these posts, that molting causes laying to be curtailed somewhat?
I've never had a single hen lay during molt. A couple of my birds have begun laying again after molting early this year, but I don't anticipate that will last - they'll stop completely once the days are too short to trigger laying.
The Easter Egger was the last to start, and she needed to be dosed with Calcium Citrate for 7 days, because I had noticed some eggs with no shell. That solved the problem. I was about to start dosing her again, because she hasn't laid for a week, but I wanted to know if I should
No, do not dose her if she's not laying. Most likely she was having egg quality issues because she was ready to stop laying due to molt (and she may have egg quality issues that fix themselves once she starts again).
 
Oh, thank you so much, I didn't think of that. I won't dose her with calcium, but may try a higher protein feed while they are molting.

That brings up another question: Can they keep themselves warm while molting? None of them have bare patches yet, but there is a ton of feathers everywhere, every morning. And whenever I touch one of them dozens of feathers come off in my arms. I have been fastidiously removing them, thinking they might have mites or dirt, But should I allow them to pile up in the place where they sleep to keep it warmer. (like in Beatrice Potter, there was a whole room full of feathers in Jemima Puddleduck (the silly bird who wanted to sit on her own eggs instead of letting the farmer give them to the hens to hatch...so she went with Mr. Fox to his farm with the room full of feathers?). Spoiler alert, she survived, but none of her eggs did. Or should I pile some clean bedding in there? They don't sleep on the floor, they sleep on a roost 6 inches above it. There is a rug on the floor to make the poop easier to remove in the morning. I shut the door so their aren't any drafts in there. Should I put the heat plate I used when they were babies back in there? How are they going to stay warm without feathers? And how long is this going to last. Today is day 2.
 
And whenever I touch one of them dozens of feathers come off in my arms.
Avoid handling them unless needed while molting. You may find birds become more skittish as they're more sensitive due to the pinfeathers coming in.
Should I put the heat plate I used when they were babies back in there? How are they going to stay warm without feathers? And how long is this going to last. Today is day 2.
Molt can happen very quickly, or gradually. So a bird can blow off everything in a few days, or very small amounts for weeks, to the point that you might not even notice they're actively molting at a glance.

Judging by your user name you're in Southern California? You'll never get cold enough for cold to be a concern.
 

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