Chicken missing stomachs feathers

[BirdFellow]

Hello!
Today we noticed one of our hens was missing feathers on her belly. (I have attached some photos below). We have just noticed today while she was sitting in the laying box so we aren’t sure how long this has been occurring.

Earlier my mother noticed both chickens were in the laying box but once I came back from school we checked on them and one of them was still in there. Therefore we were thinking she might just be broody because the eggs under her were warm and she seemed to possibly creating a nest (?) with her feathers. However, even after I took out the eggs from underneath her she still sat there.

So we were also wondering if it could have instead been she was in there because she was cold and didn’t want to go outside. (?)

Currently we have shut the laying box door for today. However we were wondering what this was? If it was her being broody what should we do to stop her from pulling her own feathers?

Any feedback is appreciated! Thank you!

Sincerely,
BirdFellow

 

[All4Eggz]

She is broody.
Broodies do this sometimes to cover their eggs to warm them up and make the nest more comfortable for them. They pluck out their breast and stomach feathers, explaining why she has a bald stomach.

 

[BirdFellow]

She is broody.
Broodies do this sometimes to cover their eggs to warm them up and make the nest more comfortable for them. They pluck out their breast and stomach feathers, explaining why she has a bald stomach.

Thank you! Is there anything we can do about this?

 

[All4Eggz]

Thank you! Is there anything we can do about this?

You can supplement her feed with more protein so she grows back feathers faster and more healthily.

Mealworms, fish (canned tuna would be good), cat food, chicken, etc would be a good source of protein.

Are you planning on letting her hatch some chicks?

 

[BirdFellow]

You can supplement her feed with more protein so she grows back feathers faster and more healthily.

Mealworms, fish (canned tuna would be good), cat food, chicken, etc would be a good source of protein.

Are you planning on letting her hatch some chicks?

Thank you so much! We will add those to her food. While I love the idea, we don’t want them to have chicks because we think the space they have currently is more comfortable for two chickens. We also don’t have a rooster. TwT