Help! Swollen chest w/ feathers missing, hot to touch, stretches neck?

[hmlongino]

Okay, I have a buff orpington hen that hasn't been right for a while. I will do my very best to describe the symptoms... I would love any help you can give me!!

-She stretches herself out with her neck high and ruffles her feathers (like a rooster who is trying to crow) repeatedly

-Her breast is very big and swollen. I compared it to the other buff orpingtons and it is markedly bigger AND she is losing her feathers in this area only

-We have 21 hens, and I am not sure who is doing this... but someone has been laying misshapen eggs for a week or more (warped shells, looks like they are made of paper mache, and then yesterday there was one that looked like an alien spawn... it looked like a misshapen lump of soft wax?? It was NOT egglike, except in color! Again, not sure who the culprit is, but this hen is the only one sick acting??

-She walks around with her feathers spread downward towards the ground... very odd.


I haven't noticed her poop. My girls are all on layer pellets plus garden & bread scraps.


Any help would be very much appreciated!!

Holly

(I edited the title to be more descriptive!)

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm sorry this is happening to your hen, sounds like it might be internal laying from what you have described, heres a link that might help.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=81159

 

[hmlongino]

Thank you for the link!


I forgot to mention that it's her whole chest that is large, with the feathers gone from it... and it's hot to the touch. Looks just like this poor hen I found on google- http://lh4.ggpht.com/_stbZTJm-NaE/TKYW3YzgPBI/AAAAAAAAAJw/UkLlKWaV-lY/IMG_4633.jpg