Swollen preening gland

[BibbelBop]

Hi! This is not an emergency. This is a question I'm asking on behalf of my mother who has a 10yr old brahma chicken. We noticed in the past couple years that she doesn't keep up with her preening like she used to when she was younger. We assumed it was fine since we've heard it was something that's common in older hens. Recently her feathers have gotten very brittle and break very easily. She has finally entered a molt and it seems very extreme. She didn't molt the whole previous year and we found that a little bit odd. Her preening gland is huge and discolored. It looks like it might explode! (for lack of better description) I guess from her not preening and using the oils that come from there it's still producing normally and has gotten very full? We just don't know if we should do anything or be worried. She's our pet chicken and we love her so much. We don't want her to be in any discomfort or for this to develop into something more. Do we express it? Or just leave it? Any advice?
Thank you for taking the time to read this!

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have a picture of it? Her preen gland sounds like it is swollen and abscessed. You can apply some very warm wet compresses to it for 10 minutes a couple of times a day while holding her on a towel. Then massage the area to release the oil. Is she dust bathing?

 

[BibbelBop]

Do you have a picture of it? Her preen gland sounds like it is swollen and abscessed. You can apply some very warm wet compresses to it for 10 minutes a couple of times a day while holding her on a towel. Then massage the area. Is she dust bathing?

I can take a picture. Thank you! This is very helpful information. Yes, she does dust bathe in the yard pretty regularly. Do you think it could be infected perhaps from the dirt or something?

 

[Eggcessive]

It may just be stopped up. The warm compresses and massage can open it up to drain.