Strange Droopy Tail

[CannedMonster]

I have a batch of 6 EE chicks (five weeks old) and one has a droopy tail. I don’t mean it’s down because the chick doesn’t feel good or anything. The chick eats, drinks and engages in normal chick activity with normal energy level.
I mean the chick has a bizarre tail. Like it’s not a normal tail. I’ve raised a lot of chicks and I’ve never seen this.
It’s not exactly rumpless.
There isn’t a normal number of feathers on it’s tail and it seems sort of small and underdeveloped when I examine it.
The problem it’s creating is that when this chick poops, the drooping tail doesn’t move out of the way like a normal tail would so the poop gets stuck in the fluff underneath and it has a chronic pasty butt.
Has anyone seen this before?

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I’ve never personally had a chick like that, but here are a couple threads that I’ve come across in the past that have chickens with a similar tail: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rumpless-or-birth-defect.1325220/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-this-“free-rare-breed”.1283464/.

 

[CannedMonster]

I’ve never personally had a chick like that, but here are a couple threads that I’ve come across in the past that have chickens with a similar tail: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rumpless-or-birth-defect.1325220/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/what-is-this-“free-rare-breed”.1283464/.

Thank you for the links. It was interesting reading. I think my chick has a deformed tail. It’s a very sweet chick but requires frequent butt washes because the poop gets caught under the tail all the time. I wonder if I could cut the tail feather shorter to help with that?

 

[dbtcowgirl]

I had a silver laced wyandotte with the same thing, she has grown into a normal pretty layer....with a derpy tail. I have no answers as to why or how but my girl is totally fine other than being a little droopy in the hind end. To be honest I can relate m

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It's a partially rumpled bird. It's just missing a few bones so it doesn't have all those pretty tail feathers but has more bones than an actual rimpless bird

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It's a partially rumpled bird. It's just missing a few bones so it doesn't have all those pretty tail feathers but has more bones than an actual rimpless bird

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

Thank you for the links. It was interesting reading. I think my chick has a deformed tail. It’s a very sweet chick but requires frequent butt washes because the poop gets caught under the tail all the time. I wonder if I could cut the tail feather shorter to help with that?

Maybe. Trimming her butt fluff might help as well.