I was given a black shiny hen (sitting on a bunch of eggs!). She was pretty wild, but is finally closer to being sociable. When I was able to pick her up, I discovered that she doesn't have many feathers on her chest (?). It feels soft and seems to bulge out a bit. She seems healthy and has just started laying again. So...does she have some sort of deformity or does she belong to a breed that has this characteristic?
Bulgy-chested hen
- Thread starter Kady
- Start date
Hi Kady and welcome to the Forum.
It would be normal for a hen who had been sitting on eggs to have feathers missing from her chest because she would have shed them before sitting on the eggs, to make a hot brood patch to keep the eggs warm. They will grow back in time, Are you sure the soft bulgy part isn't just her crop, the place where her food ends up when she's just eaten it, before it goes further on down to be digested? A hens crop should be empty first thing in the morning, before she eats, and then fill up and feel bulgy when she's had a good meal. If the bulge is further back down than this, it might be something else. What are you feeding her on?
What happened to the eggs, did you get any chicks?
It would be normal for a hen who had been sitting on eggs to have feathers missing from her chest because she would have shed them before sitting on the eggs, to make a hot brood patch to keep the eggs warm. They will grow back in time, Are you sure the soft bulgy part isn't just her crop, the place where her food ends up when she's just eaten it, before it goes further on down to be digested? A hens crop should be empty first thing in the morning, before she eats, and then fill up and feel bulgy when she's had a good meal. If the bulge is further back down than this, it might be something else. What are you feeding her on?
What happened to the eggs, did you get any chicks?
