My first hen with has now 5 eggs (3 are firtile) (the other two aren't old enough to candel) But i have a problem the hen has lost quite a few of her feathers on her chest. She is hass ans allert and can certainly bite!!!!! i just dont wana handel her to much as she does have eggs. But is the feather thing normal ext ext????*perching and alert

Don't worry sounds normal, when sitting on eggs hens often appear to lose chest feathers. Its part of the incubation process. Cheers Clearwing

so it is normal to have a bald patch on her chest?

I have had them like that, just leave her she will be alright, but if she is coming off he eggs to much for long periods I mean just keep an eye to see if she egg bound.

Yes it is normal. Its more like the breast feathers open up to allow the skin to make contact with the eggs to add boby warmth for incubation. Cheers Clearwing

Some hens actually pull a few of their own feathers for better contact to the eggs and to line her nest with.

Yep its normal as mentioned already. The hens pluck the chest feathers so that there is more skin to egg contact. Feather insulates the bird - meaning it keeps heat in. Hens want to heat the eggs - so it makes sense to have less feathers where you are laying on the eggs...

okay Now how do you check if a hen is egg bound? i have read about it but book information isnt always reliable compared to what you guys say wich i what i trust most

As long as she isn't panting, on the bottom the the cage, in pain for longer than normal or hasn't passed the egg after a few hours of seemingly being about to lay, then your okay.

Just was out there and seams fine to me!

Hi i just noticed this morning that more feathers from her chest have fallen out now there is a patch about 2-3cm covering her chest where you can see skin. I have checked and she is not egg bound from what i can see but i still don't quite understand what is going on......? I am worried...

Help Anyone

You do no need any help, you were told this is normal. Hens will remove feathers to allow their body heat to more easily be transferred to eggs.

 

This is normal. Stop worrying and asking for help when all the advice you have been given is telling you that what you described is perfectly normal.

okay sorry

okay sorry

 

 

It's okay to ask, Jack. We are always telling people that no question is a bad question to ask.

 

I can see how you would think there was a big difference between "plucking out some feathers" and "2-3 cm bald patch". But, yes, in this case it is still for the same reason, to warm the eggs.

 

Dave is right, you don't need to worry. HOWEVER, if something does worry you, no matter how small, it is okay to ask. It is better to be safe than sorry.

 

It is great that you are being diligent about your breeding pair. But I have one other piece of advice that I have learned on here. If you worry too much and keep hovering over your hen, you can transfer your anxiety to her, and cause her to have problems.

 

So just check her in the morning and evening, see that she looks healthy and can move around properly, and then leave her alone for the rest of the day. (If she can move around properly, she's probably fine- don't expect her to get egg bound, she'll probably won't.)