Bare belly and redness, bare patch before tail feathers on the top.

[monaname]

I have 5 BPR hens that just turned a year old and have been in great health. One hen today I noticed sitting down and it struck me as odd, but I didn't really think about it until later this evening. My girls free-range and I saw four of them doing their usually walk/sweep of the lawn...where was the 5th? I looked around the yard and she was no where to be found. So I walked behind the coop where I have their poop compost and table scrap compost (poop is not the same pile as scraps) and there she was, laying down in the table scrap compost.....So then I knew something wasn't right. I picked her up and turned her over....and that's when I saw her bare belly....looking red and raw. I didn't see any obvious bugs though. I've read the posts on this and folks are saying that it could be from getting broody or molting...but if that's so, why would she start laying down in random places? I will say that a couple weeks ago, one of the hens slept in one of the nesting boxes and I thought that was weird too. As you can tell, this is my first flock...and I've only had them a year. Any help would be great.

Coop; deep pine shaving bedding
Nesting boxes; hay
Free-Range 90% of the time
Roosts: cleaned off every day and I check for anything unusual every day (nothing I can see or smell seems bad)

https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/album/6132590/id/4858710/sort/display_order
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/album/6132590/id/4858727/sort/display_order
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/album/6132590/id/4858560/sort/display_order
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/album/6132590/id/4858597/sort/display_order

 

[crj]

I can't seem to get access to your pictures. It does sound like she is broody.

 

[monaname]

Two more things this morning I noticed; 1. her comb and wattle were grey/brown instead of the nice deep red it used to be and 2. When she took a poop it was watery and clear. Is that broody as well?

 

[terryg]

She's broody. Broody hens will pull the feathers off of their chests so that the bare skin is next to the eggs and keeps them warm. Her behavior will change, and she'll huff up and stay put on her nest. You can break your hen of broodiness with an anti-broody coop. I have a description here: http://hencam.com/henblog/2012/04/what-to-do-about-a-broody/

 

[MarangChickens]

Just wondering whatever happened to your chicken with the bare patch. This just happened to me today. My Golden Buff is a year old, healthy, been doing great. Noticed yesterday that she was not moving much and seemed to have her head tucked in a little bit, like she was cold or something. Today I saw her get off the roost and noticed a bare patch, not on her chest like when broody, but closer to her tail. She also has a squishy abdomen. She didn't leave the coop with the others today. Poop has stringy white stuff in it, not like round worm (I've seen that) but like cooked egg whites or a lining of some sort. Cleveland, OH