Bare-Breasted White Leghorn Hen

[prov31mom23]

I was just gathering eggs and lifted a hen who was standing in one of the nest boxes. I noticed that her breast is bare - mostly lower but also the area around the breastbone. Her skin is bright pink. It's only 25 degrees in the coop - could she be cold or is her skin irritated or is bright pink normal on a white leghorn? I haven't noticed more feathers in the coop than usual but we have over 40 hens and 2 roosters so that amount of feathers might go unnoticed unless they were all in one spot in the coop. How can I figure out why she has no feathers? The leghorns went through a molt in the fall but everything had grown back in since then. She isn't quite two years old.

Pamela

 

[JacobMaxwell]

Does she sleep in the nesting boxes or on the floor? Often that can cause loss of feathers in that area.

 

[prov31mom23]

Some of our hens do sleep in the nesting boxes but we have plenty of space for roosting. The leghorns (we have only 4) seem to like to roost on top of some old, flat-topped nest boxes but we removed them last week. I don't know where they sleep now.

 

[JacobMaxwell]

I would check on them tonight and see where they are sleeping. If they are on the floor or in the nests I would move them to the roosts until they get the idea. Broody hens always pluck their chests, but these are leghorns so that is probably not the case. See if the the other chickens are picking the feathers out. She could also have mites or lice that are driving her crazy and making her to pluck her own feathers.