Please help! hen's breast is bare & bleeding! 😥

[Dancingwnature]

My 1yr old Barred Rock hen suddenly has no feathers on her whole breast area. There's some blood on the area like she's pecking at it. I just got her last month. I hold her and sit with her every day - how could I have missed this?? She's gentle and lovable, and my 1st and only chicken.

I'm sobbing and I can't stand knowing she's suffering and I must have caused it! Please someone, give me some guidance? I'll do anything it takes to make her better. I am a widow so I live alone. I own my home and all its acreage, in Skagit Co. NW Washington state- surrounded by real wilderness. So no one else will be impacted. My house is way too big for just myself & my cat. So, I can bring her into the house to treat her.
I have some medical training and equipment. I have always had animals except when I was working tours of duty in humanitarian emergencies in Africa. Like most of you, I don't see an animal as an object I own. She has feelings and is trying to communicate her discomfort to me. I'm just too dumb to understand.

 

[HeaterCW42]

Sorry to hear your hen is hurt, if you can post a pic it would help to know what kind of advice to give you. If you've got some medical training and supplies I imagine you'll have her back to normal soon! This is definitely the best place to find help that is for sure. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent reading all sorts of threads here that have made it possible for me to handle some really awful stuff, as well as prevent even more!

 

[Weeg]

Check for mites/lice in her feathers. I am trying to think of why this would happen, do you have a rooster, had she been broody?

 

[Dancingwnature]

Check for mites/lice in her feathers. I am trying to think of why this would happen, do you have a rooster, had she been broody?

No rooster. Bandia's my only bird. Not broody. I have books that say one thing (mites, lice - never use vet offered medicines - diatomaceous earth will fix it, just takes longer.). Then I've seen Epsom salty warm baths... I will try to get a photo of Bandia Sicín, when she's not posing & hamming it up for the camera.
I spent hours on the web searching for possible diagnoses, but I knew the only place that I would get anywhere was here.

My med background and all is in humans. What can I do to ease her discomfort? She's under-weight: her breast bone is quite pronounced. She's laying well. But, she still doesn't like chickenf feed I bought a brand new organic, nutritionally complete bag of feed.

 

[Lovem all]

Hows her crop feel?

 

[Dancingwnature]

Hows her crop feel?

Feels good. She has a good appetite but still doesn't care for her crumbles. Her feces are normal and she's drinking plenty of H2O.
Yesterday, in addition to free ranging (she likes my sorrel, mixed greens growing, bugs and worms) she had a little of each: beetroot and tops, mango, blueberries, strawberries, chopped peanuts, oyster shell mix, larger grit, defrosted broccoli, carrots, small amount of layer crumble, and wild bird food.
Does this help?
Thank you for your help!!!

 

[Lovem all]

Is it possible she has mites or lice and was pulling at her feathers cause it itched so bad?
Also was anything really stressful for her yesterday?

 

[Dancingwnature]

Here's a photo of Bandia's breast area:

 

[Dancingwnature]

Is it possible she has mites or lice and was pulling at her feathers cause it itched so bad?
Also was anything really stressful for her yesterday?

I'm not sure on the mites or lice. The books and files I have on poultry which discuss the pests aren't very clear on what I'm really looking for.
On stress, I wasn't able to spend any quality time with her on 30th July; just washing & refilling her water, collecting her egg, feeding.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

So she's laying properly right? An egg every other day or every day?