Drooping Tail

[whatsthequestion]

My girl has a drooping tail. Perhaps eggbound? Before I bring her in to check her I want to make sure I have all bases covered so I can check her thoroughly.

She has always been a bit different from my other pullets in personality. Sweet but odd. She quietly moved herself in with a coop of young chicks I was integrating into my flock. She did not try to establish her pecking order above them. She sits and stares a decent bit...like she is daydreaming. She keeps her beak open more but doesn't seem to be breathing hard or gasping. Her poop is normal with no signs of visible parasites. She is eating and drinking. Out of 31 chickens she is #31 in pecking order and often sleeps by herself on the roost. Several of my other pullets her age have started laying in the last month. With the weather bad she doesn't stay on the floor of the coop with the other chickens but hangs out on the roost.

Thank you for your input!

 

[Gallinarium]

That tail position is pretty normal to me. Unless she shows other symptoms, it's unlikely she's egg-bound. In addition, if she is, her tail would be moving up and down as she strains, not just hanging.
The tail position can reflect the mood they're in, especially confidence. She may just be showing that she's low in the pecking order.
Or she might just like to hold her tail like that. You never know with chickens.

 

[Eggcessive]

How old is she? Has she ever laid or has she recently laid any eggs? A drooping tail can be a sign that she is ill or might be laying internally. Does she have any trouble walking? Internal laying, salpingitis, and egg yolk peritonitis are all connected reproductive disorders that are common in hens. Keeping her eating and drinking, and let her do what she feels like doing are the best things you can do. Here is some reading about EYP and internal laying:
http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/egg-yolk-peritonitis-in-backyard-chickens

 

[whatsthequestion]

How old is she? Has she ever laid or has she recently laid any eggs? A drooping tail can be a sign that she is ill or might be laying internally. Does she have any trouble walking? Internal laying, salpingitis, and egg yolk peritonitis are all connected reproductive disorders that are common in hens. Keeping her eating and drinking, and let her do what she feels like doing are the best things you can do. Here is some reading about EYP and internal laying:
http://www.theveterinaryexpert.com/backyard-poultry/egg-yolk-peritonitis/

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/egg-yolk-peritonitis-in-backyard-chickens

She is almost 7.5 months old. To my knowledge she has never laid an egg. I have 11 EEs her age and some have started laying in the last month. She walks normally and will occasionally run or low fly when outside. I'll read the information you sent me. Thank you.

 

[whatsthequestion]

That tail position is pretty normal to me. Unless she shows other symptoms, it's unlikely she's egg-bound. In addition, if she is, her tail would be moving up and down as she strains, not just hanging.
The tail position can reflect the mood they're in, especially confidence. She may just be showing that she's low in the pecking order.
Or she might just like to hold her tail like that. You never know with chickens.

Her tail isn't moving so that is encouraging. Chickens are indeed a mystery at times. Lol Thank you for your input. I'll keep watching her.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

My girl has a drooping tail. Perhaps eggbound? Before I bring her in to check her I want to make sure I have all bases covered so I can check her thoroughly.

Dear chicken friend, were these chicks vaccinated against Marek's?

I could be wrong and apologize for cutting to the point, probably shouldn't even say it.. and HOPE I'm wrong. Looks like wry tail and retarded growth essentially.. caused by Marek's disease virus. Please don't jump to this conclusion but do be aware that it could be one of the MILD symptoms.

Marek's Virus FAQ

COULD be genetic weakness since it's only one! Easter Eggers have always been fairly hardy in my experience but they can't all get the good genes. One of my favorite birds and she is lovely too!

How long has her tail been down? Did you ever need to treat for coccidiosis? What is their standard feed routine including treats and supplements.. I mean at the bottom of the pecking order, surely she isn't getting excess treats?? Is she getting enough nutrition still?

Just looking for clues.

Hope you get some answers & she recovers quickly!

 

[whatsthequestion]

Thanks everyone for responding. I feel a bit ridiculous as I may have been concerned over nothing. She went out late this afternoon with three other chickens and her tail came up. (See picture.) Still curious about what is up with her droopy tail I began to look back through pictures to see when her tail began drooping. I realized that it was shortly after moving into the big new coop.

On New Year’s night we lost two roosters to a fox attack. Two other hens were injured as well. These chickens were in a coop 10 feet away from my back door. That same night, while we were running around with flashlights in torrential rain and sleet looking for scattered birds, that coop flooded. We had to move the four remaining chickens and a rooster into the new coop with the other birds. The next two days my four older hens were brutal to the younger ones. I walked in on day two to blood splattered on a wall and a little leghorn covered in blood from a badly nipped comb, which I cleaned and mended. That night, another small coop where I had housed a rescued old rooster and hen also flooded. The temperatures were freezing and I moved them into the new coop as well. My sister-in-law refers to that week as Chickenageddon.

Miraculously the older rooster and hen quickly put the rough pecking in check and instantly restored peace to my flock. It had always been our intention to join the flocks, just not so abruptly. The older rooster and chicken had already been opened up to the younger chickens but kept returning to their old coop at night to sleep. While the chickens are still sorting out a new pecking order, this chicken, being last in the flock, may likely be staying on the roost to keep a low profile. Perhaps that is what’s up with her tail drooping when she is inside. She is still odd and staring a lot. Maybe she is plotting her takeover of the coop. We will see. I’m going to keep an eye on her.

Thank you again for your willingness to help and patience with this novice chicken owner. Hopefully, she just has an expressive tail.

 

[whatsthequestion]

Dear chicken friend, were these chicks vaccinated against Marek's?

I could be wrong and apologize for cutting to the point, probably shouldn't even say it.. and HOPE I'm wrong. Looks like wry tail and retarded growth essentially.. caused by Marek's disease virus. Please don't jump to this conclusion but do be aware that it could be one of the MILD symptoms.

Marek's Virus FAQ

COULD be genetic weakness since it's only one! Easter Eggers have always been fairly hardy in my experience but they can't all get the good genes. One of my favorite birds and she is lovely too!

How long has her tail been down? Did you ever need to treat for coccidiosis? What is their standard feed routine including treats and supplements.. I mean at the bottom of the pecking order, surely she isn't getting excess treats?? Is she getting enough nutrition still?

Just looking for clues.

Hope you get some answers & she recovers quickly!

Thank you for responding! I found her outside later this afternoon with three other chickens and her tail had come up. (see post for details) So, I feel a bit silly but you never know with chickens.. However, in response to some of your questions I thought I would still answer them to make sure I am on track with my flock.

I did not vaccinate them for Marek’s. She came from Tractor Supply and at the time I misunderstood about hatchery vaccinations. I’ve read they should be vaccinated early and will do so with any others I bring in. They have not had coccidiosis. The only thing really off that has happened is several chickens had really loose poop a few nights ago which I was able to link to a neighbor putting a variety of really greasy scraps and pineapple leaves over the fence for them. I cleaned up what was left on the ground and they were fine within a day.

I have thirty-one chickens. I am feeding the flock Dumor 16% Layer pellets but am considering going to flock raiser because of the roosters and supplementing with oyster shells. (Thoughts on this?) I used to feed crumble but the last two bags were nothing but dust and not usable.

Along with the pullet that is under discussion I have a rooster that was from my original flock that stays on the roost a lot. He survived the fox attack and is at present being taught his place by the older rooster. I installed food and water dishes on the wall above the roost where I feed both of them after I realized my rooster had been without food and water for almost an entire day. When I do treat feed I usually hand feed both of them.

On Fridays I usually toss in a butternut squash or something similar. It is dense and gives the chickens something to entertain them for about 3 days. The rest of the week I dispense treats based on the weather. If they are stuck inside I give them 2 treat balls with dried meal worms inside. They love to peck them around the coop. Other treats include apple, cranberries, blueberries, carrots, and an occasional cabbage. Instead of a fruit or veggie I occasionally give them a little bit of 6 grain scratch grain. I try to make sure that their treats do not exceed 10% of their daily diet and always wait to treat feed until later in the day. If it is going to be very cold at night I give them a little scratch grain before they roost but only enough for a few bites per chicken. On days when it is nice outside I do not give a lot of treats. My EE’s are grazers and all of them enjoy foraging.

I add AC vinegar with the mother 1 day a week to their water, 1 day I add a vitamin/electrolyte mix to it. On bitterly cold days when they are stuck inside I put just a few drops of VetRX in the water.

As far as hygiene, their waterers are cleaned and filled fresh daily. Every morning I scrape down and mop the poop board and roosts. If there are any large noticeable piles of poo on the floor I remove them as well. The coop is bedded with a substrate of pine pellets with a layer of flaked pine over them. This controls the moisture pretty well. We shoveled out and cleaned the whole coop after 3 weeks because they were in so much due to weather. The girls are really clean with their nesting boxes, but I do freshen them up every few days, adding bedding. While I am in the coop I try to take turns checking a few chickens each day looking for anything suspect. I also check their poop for any visible parasites.

That’s about it. I am still learning. Part of my childhood was spent living across from a commercial poultry farm that my dad worked at. We occasionally had chickens at home but having these has definitely been a learning experience and I am eager to learn all that I can...so any insight you can offer is appreciated. I love my chickens.

Thank you again so much! I will continue to watch her. She is one of my favorites…such an odd little girl.

 

[Byrd gal]

It's always the odd ones that get you right in that soft spot.

 

[whatsthequestion]

It's always the odd ones that get you right in that soft spot.

So so true...❤