Moult, picking, or something else?

[SmallFlockMom]

We have a very small flock of five chickens - two barred rocks, two light sussexes, and one black sex link. About two weeks ago, the black sex link was hit by a car and died. Since that time, the two barred rock hens have gotten patchy, and we figured that the stress of losing a member of the flock had affected them and that they were picking at each other, or being picked at by the two light sussexes, but there's been no blood or anything. I did some research about feather loss and wondered if it might be moult. The coop has been littered with feathers for about a month now, so I'm wondering if they've all been going through a moult, and it's just particularly extreme with the barred rock girls.

Now, one of the barred rocks - the one who has lost the most feathers on her neck, all down her front, and from her rear - seems to be wobbling as she walks. She seems to be staggering a little, and as she walks, she'll periodically kind of squat down and walk close to the ground for a couple of steps. She's eating normally and her comb is bright red and standing up. I've read a few posts that say that chickens can stagger during a really aggressive moult, and I'm wondering if that's what is happening here. However, I'm worried. Here are my questions:

• Does this sound like picking, moult, or something else?
• Is it normal for moult to happen this late in the fall? Is it possible that's what's happening?
  
• What can I do to help the fairly-naked chicken stay warm? It is literally freezing here! I was wondering if I should line a bin with fleece and put it on its side in the coop or something like that. The coop is insulated, but it's open during the day, and it's not heated at all.
• If this sounds like something more serious, how do I find a chicken vet? I've looked at websites for vets in the area, and they seem to be pretty focused on dogs and cats. Do I need to find a farm vet?

 

[SueT]

It is likely to be molting. Tis the season. All mine are molting this time of year.

 

[chickens really]

Sounds like molt...Are they still laying eggs? What are you feeding?

 

[SmallFlockMom]

Oh, SueT, that's such good news.

We are getting 1 egg from the four chickens each day, though there's the occasional day when we get 0. It's been that way for at least a couple of weeks. We feed them a layer mash with, I think, about 16% protein. We throw a couple of handfuls of a mix of sunflower and cracked corn every morning on the ground when they first come out.

I just picked up a bag of high protein feed (30%) that the feed store recommended I mix in at the rate of a handful per small bucket (not super-precise, but I figure I'll just mix in a handful each time I fill the free-choice feeder). I got the extra protein because I read that a lack of protein can cause feather-picking, but I think it's also useful if they're moulting?

If it's moult, do I need to help out the naked-ish girls somehow? It's hovering around zero degrees here these days.

Thanks to both of you. Thank goodness for this forum and this website. We've been so worried!