Missing Chest Feathers
 

Western NY here...

The jake I thought I killed this morning turned out to be a bearded hen. A first for me... Went to butcher her and found that the feathers on her chest were gone. In fact, I didn't have to pull one feather to get to the breast bone and breast meat. Everything else looked ok. No apparent sores, or tumors, and the like... Is it common for hens to be missing feathers on their chest? Did she pluck 'em herself for her nest...

...befuddled.

She was either fighting like the males do or did exactly what you mentioned if she was mature enough to make a nest and was laying eggs. It does sound like the latter to me though if she didn't have any cuts or bruises from fighting.

Every turkey I have shot has a small bare patch on their chest, probably from running on the ground. Hens may have a larger bare patch due to nesting activity.

nesting...

Males have feathers missing from mating, hens have missing feather from nesting.