Okay so my 1/2 silkie hen, Tabitha, will be 1 in April. She just recently started sitting on 3 eggs for her very first time. I have 10 of her chicks that I incubated and hatched at my house and they are a few weeks old. I thought I would take her and introduce her to them today to see what she did. When I picked her up, I realized that her crawl and her belly were completely bald. She has no feathers on them. Her skin looks perfectly healthy though. What caused this, none of my other chickens have it, just her. Also, she pecked at the chicks. Is this normal?
All of it is completely normal Broody hens pluck their belly feathers to use them as nesting material, and that bare skin keeps the eggs toasty warm. She pecked the chicks bc she doesn't see them as hers. As her eggs get further along, you'll notice her "talking" to her babies. Mom and kids start to bond before the chocks even hatch. If the chicks you'd hatched had been day olds, she would have been more likely to accept them (but even then there's still a chance she won't). Good luck with your momma and all her babies! Nikki P.S- we LOVE pics (hint, hint)
It is normal for the broody to pluck her belly. Skin contact on the egg helps regulate temperature and humidity.
