Stopped laying and losing feathers

[Micpal]

Help, I’m new to raising chickens, I have 5 8 month old hens. My Majestic Maren has stopped laying (going on 3 weeks) and is losing feathers. I just picked her up and she doesn’t smell to well either. Should I isolate her, give her more water and protein? They have a small coop and attached run that they seemed happy in. But with snow and cold are no longer free ranging.

 

[FlyWheel]

She's probably molting. Feathers, unlike hair, do not continuously grow out, but they do wear out. So birds have evolved to simply shed them periodically and grow new ones. Since the need protein to manufacture all this new fluff, egg production stops temporarily. Also, some breeds stop laying in the winter naturally. Your ladys should start again by next spring.

And yes, a little extra protein in their diet wouldn't hurt. They even make special feed for molting birds, called feather fixer or some such name.