Head backwards and then she died

[FarmMommaH]

I lost a hen this morning(Sunday). I had only noticed her tail down on Friday late afternoon after I cleaned out their water pool. I go out every day and hadn’t noticed anything strange about her. She was out side the coop drinking water out of the tarp rolls (it had rained recently) I stood and watched her for a bit and she seemed fine other than the tail down. She would mill around a bit pecking at the water I had dumped and then at the tarp some more. When I went to check on everyone Saturday afternoon she was in the coop sitting but with the head tilted completely backwards and like rubbing it back and forth on her back. I had no idea what to do for her or if there was anything I could do. I’ve got a few red hens and I can’t remember if she was my oldest or not. Could this have been just old age or do y’all think something else was going on? I know it’s probably hard to tell just from that but my knowledge of chicken health is very little (my reason in joining this page, to learn) Just wanting to know if it was something I could’ve helped (or tried) to know for the future. Thanks

 

[GracePoultry]

I'm sorry that happened to you Maybe wry neck?

 

[skeeeter]

Hi, so sorry for your loss. I've never had this problem with chickens, but I have with ducks and geese.
It seems, by the old poultry books I've seen, to be "Apoplectiform Septisemia"(not sure I got the spelling right). Which was said to be spread by "dirty water".
Our ducks and geese would always try to drink washwater or dishwater and when they did, some would get those symtoms and die within 3 days.
(They were free ranged and it became especially difficult in wet weather because they would dig out the gravel and stones from the drain bed and excavate mud holes next to it, drinking the nasty water that they'd made available.)

 

[nuthatched]

How far down was her tail? Any other symptoms? Was she laying?