Chicken with tail down

torismith

In the Brooder
Mar 21, 2017
25
11
39
9C738DBE-5921-4B0F-A5DA-B297DDBAC5A6.jpeg
Hey all,
Last time one of my girls had her tail down, I knew she was egg bound since she was pumping her tail up and down; not eating, standing still, etc. This time around the only indication something is wrong is that her tail is down. She’s acting normal, eating and drinking, poops are normal, taking dust baths like usual. No nasal discharge, or visable symptoms. Any ideas? I attached a photo above. The hen in the middle in the back is the one with her tail down.

*update*
She laid an egg this morning that was perfect size and shell was normal. Tail is still down. The feathers on the end seem a little damaged but didn’t strike me as odd since I have another sex link with some ratty tail feathers. Def no sign of parasites or lice
 
Last edited:
Being a sex link they are prone to reproductive problems. She does look a bit unwell in the picture, but without other symptoms it can be hard to pinpoint the problem.

Another option is she's starting to molt. How old is she?
 
Being a sex link they are prone to reproductive problems. She does look a bit unwell in the picture, but without other symptoms it can be hard to pinpoint the problem.

Another option is she's starting to molt. How old is she?

She is a year and 4 months. I separated her to make sure she was laying and there was an egg in her nest box this morning and it was perfect formed. So I don’t think her calcium level or anything is off. She still has her tail down so I’m not sure what the issue exactly is.
 
Some of mine have started their molts by dropping their tail feathers, though I can't tell if you're has less feathers than she normally has. She certainly will be molting this year. Could be she's start to shut down for the season. They will sometimes lay shell less eggs or small fairy eggs towards the end of the season too.
 
Some of mine have started their molts by dropping their tail feathers, though I can't tell if you're has less feathers than she normally has. She certainly will be molting this year. Could be she's start to shut down for the season. They will sometimes lay shell less eggs or small fairy eggs towards the end of the season too.

Her feathers are all normal still except at the very end of her tail. They look a little damaged. I have another sexlink who also has a little damage to hers as well. I live in Florida and it’s been in the triple digits so I wasn’t sure if that had anything to do with it
 

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View attachment 1483463 Hey all,
Last time one of my girls had her tail down, I knew she was egg bound since she was pumping her tail up and down; not eating, standing still, etc. This time around the only indication something is wrong is that her tail is down. She’s acting normal, eating and drinking, poops are normal, taking dust baths like usual. No nasal discharge, or visable symptoms. Any ideas? I attached a photo above. The hen in the middle in the back is the one with her tail down.

*update*
She laid an egg this morning that was perfect size and shell was normal. Tail is still down. The feathers on the end seem a little damaged but didn’t strike me as odd since I have another sex link with some ratty tail feathers. Def no sign of parasites or lice

Hi, any update for your chook? One of mine has the exact same problem at the moment but no other symptoms!
 
View attachment 1483463 Hey all,
Last time one of my girls had her tail down, I knew she was egg bound since she was pumping her tail up and down; not eating, standing still, etc. This time around the only indication something is wrong is that her tail is down. She’s acting normal, eating and drinking, poops are normal, taking dust baths like usual. No nasal discharge, or visable symptoms. Any ideas? I attached a photo above. The hen in the middle in the back is the one with her tail down.

*update*
She laid an egg this morning that was perfect size and shell was normal. Tail is still down. The feathers on the end seem a little damaged but didn’t strike me as odd since I have another sex link with some ratty tail feathers. Def no sign of parasites or lice
We have eight sex links and I have not seen this before but they are only five months old. All eight are laying with no issues so far.
 

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