Droopy Tail?

[Chicken_overlord]

Hello all!

We just got home from a two week long vacation to find one of our hens has a droopy tail and is walking a little funny. It reminds me of someone that has nerve issues in their legs. She's eating, drinking, and is still spending time with the flock from what I can tell. She does tend to almost sit completely down when she stops to peck something and does seem a little lower energy than normal. She is about 10 months old and started laying for us in February. She has not laid us an egg for a month and a half, however. The last egg she laid was very elongated and small-ish. All her eggs before then had been normal. She is on all-flock with oyster shells. She had free range time daily before we left, but has been confined to the run while we were gone.

We did have a hen die on us in the nest box about 3 weeks to a month ago without any symptoms before hand. Personally, I do not think it is related, but perhaps it could be.

Any help would be appreciated!

 

[Sir Sacabambaspis]

Idk how common this problem is... But my hen Eda started acting like that and died at the vets office after surgery. Sadly she had an ovary problem/infection and he had a clump of what seemed like a lash egg. She was an older hen though (born sometime around 2018) so it might have been age related. However I'd still recommend taking your hen to a vet asap! Check her vent and make sure she's drinking water!

 

[Sir Sacabambaspis]

Idk how common this problem is... But my hen Eda started acting like that and died at the vets office after surgery. Sadly she had an ovary problem/infection and he had a clump of what seemed like a lash egg. She was an older hen though (born sometime around 2018) so it might have been age related. However I'd still recommend taking your hen to a vet asap! Check her vent and make sure she's drinking water!

The fact you had another hen pass in a nest box is concerning though, it vary well could be an ovary related problem. What breed(s) are they?

 

[Chicken_overlord]

Thank you for the reply. I'm also concerned it's a reproduction issue, though I'm not sure what kind. This hen is an easter egger. The hen that passed away was a deathlayer. I think the deathlayer suffered from a heart attack (possibly related to a reproduction issue) as the color of her wattle and comb were purple when we found her and it was very sudden. Perfectly normal in the afternoon, passed when we returned home in the evening.