Lower keel area bloated, how should it feel??

[Aae]

A bit hard to explain, sorry in advance.

If you feel the keel (breast) bone in a chicken and move your hand down to the lowest part of it, between the chickens legs, and then feel the area on the sides of the keel bone, how should it feel? Firm or squishy like theres water or fat around it?

I know you can tell how fat a chicken is by feeling the sides of the upper keel bone, is fat what I'm feeling or are my hens ill?

Two of my hens feel squishy around that area, but others feel firm and what I would consider normal.

 

[azygous]

There are two areas on a chicken, not counting the crop, where bloating can occur. One is just below the vent where fatty deposits can occur, and it feels like fat.

The other area is forward of that area, and it's considered the abdominal area. When that bloats, it feels like a water balloon. In extreme cases, the bloating is so pronounced that it causes the chicken to walk like a penguin with legs wide apart. This is usually caused by fluid accumulating just under the skin, and the cause is usually a failing fatty liver. It can be associated with the fat deposit under the vent.

 

[Chickenlover4ever!]

Since I’m not feeling it myself I would say that if the hens look and act normal it is probably just a difference in if they have laid an egg or how much they have been pooping it doesn’t sound like a problem yet..

 

[Chickenlover4ever!]

Since I’m not feeling it myself I would say that if the hens look and act normal it is probably just a difference in if they have laid an egg or how much they have been pooping it doesn’t sound like a problem yet..