bald chooks

[BUFFS]

OH has just called me out to the birds,all except the moulter seem to be missing feathers round the breastbone,one or two seem quite bald there,is this a problem?,or is it normal for first year birds?,they appear alert and are feeding normally,although have been down to 2/3 eggs for a few days,but i had put that down to the weather,they are running round the backyard now,with what seems like not a care in the world.

[Eco-Chic]

Sounds like some girlies are about to go broody. They pull out their undercarriage feathers so they can keep the eggs warm underneath them.

Myrtle No Knicks has stopped being broody for the last couple of days, but she did start on 14th December.

I eggspect the other two are going to moult or brood too, cos I haven't had any eggs for the last four days.

[colser]

could also be them sleeping on their poo, which is very acidic and burns the feathers.
My chooks suffer from this as they generally sleep in their laying boxes not their perches

[BUFFS]

the girls always sleep on their roosting bars and seem very clean,we are getting 2 eggs instead of 4 so you may be right about them getting broody,never mind,as long aqs they are healthy i dont mind too much.the blackrock that we were worried about..looking like a neglected exbat,she has now finished moulting and she is looking superb,far better than the other 4,but she still stays tamer than the others,just waiting for some eggs now,thanks both of you for the info...