I'm pretty sure I'm the MOST ignorant chicken "farmer" ever! Every time I think I know all there is to know, something happens! With that said, I don't think the girls are molting, but I could be wrong! I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary with their feathers, but I've read that a lot of chickens molt in the fall so who knows.
We haven't noticed any parasites (and I've been scouring the coops..sort of!), but I know external parasites can be hard to spot.
I'm not sure if this can cause any issues, but we do have 4 bantam roosters that are on the younger side. They were hatched in April. They are NOT in the actual coop with the girls, but they are in the same barn. We turned an old cow barn into our chicken coop! Crazy, I'm sure, but it works!
Anyway, the girls are never in contact with the roos, but the boys do crow ALL OF THE TIME so maybe that bothers them. The girls aren't intimidated by the roos either. In fact, when the roos are in their own chicken run, the girls stand outside mocking them! Okay, maybe they're just teasing them. Nonetheless, the girls are MUCH larger than the tiny roos so I'm pretty sure they aren't scared.
However, I've thought that maybe, just maybe, the roos are disrupting their egg laying cycle. I'm hoping not, though. I really don't want the roos, but I have a hard time culling them. They're just so pretty!
The debate in the house is that the girls are getting too old to keep up their production. I'm thinking no, but the man of the house thinks yes.