Chicken with red belly but no other symptoms

[12chickenstoomany]

Hi, my chicken is a one and a half year old Barred Rock, she is seemingly healthy in every way. She has no abdominal swelling, no labored breathing or wheezing, no missing feathers, no egg laying problems, no lethargy, no crusty butt, healthy appetite, but she has a red belly that feels very warm to the touch, and it spreads and recedes. She's the only chicken that has it out of my flock of 12, and she's had it for months. We thought it was water belly at first and we mourned and cried. We gave her epsom salt baths, checked to see if she was broody, checked the coop for wet spots or mold, and got nothing. I have antibiotics in my fridge that I keep on hand just in case, but I'm reluctant to give them to her because I don't know what's wrong! Any ideas? Should I even be worried?

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have any pictures?

 

[12chickenstoomany]

Do you have any pictures?

 

[12chickenstoomany]

View attachment 4189029

I was wrong about the no missing feathers part

 

[Eggcessive]

Is she being feather picked by another or doing it herself? Could she be starting to molt?

 

[12chickenstoomany]

Is she being feather picked by another or doing it herself? Could she be starting to molt?

It is possible she is doing it herself. The missing feathers are only on her belly. Could that cause the redness and warmth? There is no swelling and her belly feels just like all the other chickens. I hope it is something innocuous like that!

 

[Eggcessive]

It could be or something where she is lying is irritating her.

 

[12chickenstoomany]

It could be or something where she is lying is irritating her.

I really appreciate your input. Thank you so much. We thought that maybe it was moisture in the coop so we switched from wood shavings to sand (not fine sand, good coarse grain sand), and the redness has gone down but hasn't gone away. I use straw in the nesting boxes, and I'm now wondering if that's the problem?
Again, thank you.

 

[Beau plus Bunny]

View attachment 4189029

I'm fairly young but my parents have been raising chickens for years and some broody hens sometimes do this to allow herself to incubate her eggs with her body heat although I've never seen it look red like that before