Broody hen with a bruise?

[uisceros]

Hi all,

I have a very young hen that just started laying and decided it was the perfect time to be broody. She’s about 6 months old, and is a Buff Orpington. She’s been broody for a week or two know. I usually just let them do their thing when broody, making sure to feel their crops for food daily to ensure they’re eating.

Tonight I was checking on Maple and noticed a large bruise (or at least it looks like a bruise) with a small scab on her chest/belly.

Apologies for the bad pictures, it’s night, and I literally had to take a video and screengrab it.

Is this from her pulling out her feathers for broody reasons? Has anyone else seen this? Should I be concerned? She’s acting mostly normal (besides being broody), but I did notice another patch of missing feathers on her back (no discoloration though).

Thanks!

 

[azygous]

Did you dab Blu-kote or gentian violet on the bald spot? Bruising on chicken skin is normally not that deep blue color, but rather a faint green.

Yes, it's normal for the hen to remove those feather along the keel bone when going broody. It enhances heat transfer to the incubating eggs.