Why does my pullet have her tail down?

PopoMyers

Free Ranging
Aug 19, 2020
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Kitsap, WA
Recently noticed that my 9 week old Welsummer's tail is down. Could this be an illness symptom? She is too young to have a stuck egg, right? Other than that, she seems to be acting normally. Is there something to check, and how? What do I need to look for?
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She definitely looks uncomfortable. I'm not sure of the cause. Possible crop issue based on age? What is their feed? Hopefully another member will be able to help.
 
They have Nature Wise chick starter available at all times, and they free range in the yard practically all day. Could she have eaten something that does not agree with her? They have windfall apples to peck on, a couple ripe tomatoes...grass and grapes, and whatever they find.
 
I understand that you are in a pickle. She is too young to be egg bound and too young to have you go fishing for an egg stuck. So it seems you have a predicament. She could have to pass a large amount of stool that hasn’t taken up enough water to work in into her system to pass comfortably and that is why it is sitting there getting hard and uncomfortable. You indeed may have to go after it with some lube before too much longer but if you could try to be sure to get some oils into her system and some liquids for sure and increase her water content for sure that is especially important. She needs more fluids. Not anything really special at this point just water and as much of it as you can be sure she will drink for now and safely pass just the safe routine way. That is the most important thing right now and that you monitor her poop specimens very closely. You need to keep a log of their color, size,, consistency weight, and I would hold on to them all until you find out whether or not you don’t have to get her to a veterinarian to see her for a visit in the next few days. *Just one more thing which might be nothing helpful at all but less dominant birds are known to hold their tails pointed down this way. She is also a Welsummer right? And these from what I understand are lesser dominant birds so she would be demonstrating lesser dominance by pointing her tail down instead of up. Either way she looks very uncomfortable 😣 and like she needs to poop. No bird needs to walk around like that looks like it feels anyway. Good luck with her! I cannot type tonight at all. So sorry.
 
I don't see anything wrong with her. She has her tail feathers coming in and as they are still somewhat short this looks lower than one would expect comparing her to a fully feathered adult.

Another thing to know: Aparart from the breeds that have very upright tail feathers, the position of the tail feathers can show the rank in the pecking order.

I would not poke around her vent or anything, she is looking just a normal teen.
 
I understand that you are in a pickle. She is too young to be egg bound and too young to have you go fishing for an egg stuck. So it seems you have a predicament. She could have to pass a large amount of stool that hasn’t taken up enough water to work in into her system to pass comfortably and that is why it is sitting there getting hard and uncomfortable. You indeed may have to go after it with some lube before too much longer but if you could try to be sure to get some oils into her system and some liquids for sure and increase her water content for sure that is especially important. She needs more fluids. Not anything really special at this point just water and as much of it as you can be sure she will drink for now and safely pass just the safe routine way. That is the most important thing right now and that you monitor her poop specimens very closely. You need to keep a log of their color, size,, consistency weight, and I would hold on to them all until you find out whether or not you don’t have to get her to a veterinarian to see her for a visit in the next few days. *Just one more thing which might be nothing helpful at all but less dominant birds are known to hold their tails pointed down this way. She is also a Welsummer right? And these from what I understand are lesser dominant birds so she would be demonstrating lesser dominance by pointing her tail down instead of up. Either way she looks very uncomfortable 😣 and like she needs to poop. No bird needs to walk around like that looks like it feels anyway. Good luck with her! I cannot type tonight at all. So sorry.
Yes, she is a Welsummer. The other breed I have is ISA brown. 4 of each. Thank you for shedding some light on this. I may have to isolate her to make more observations. How do you get them to drink more?
 
I understand that you are in a pickle. She is too young to be egg bound and too young to have you go fishing for an egg stuck. So it seems you have a predicament. She could have to pass a large amount of stool that hasn’t taken up enough water to work in into her system to pass comfortably and that is why it is sitting there getting hard and uncomfortable. You indeed may have to go after it with some lube before too much longer but if you could try to be sure to get some oils into her system and some liquids for sure and increase her water content for sure that is especially important. She needs more fluids. Not anything really special at this point just water and as much of it as you can be sure she will drink for now and safely pass just the safe routine way. That is the most important thing right now and that you monitor her poop specimens very closely. You need to keep a log of their color, size,, consistency weight, and I would hold on to them all until you find out whether or not you don’t have to get her to a veterinarian to see her for a visit in the next few days. *Just one more thing which might be nothing helpful at all but less dominant birds are known to hold their tails pointed down this way. She is also a Welsummer right? And these from what I understand are lesser dominant birds so she would be demonstrating lesser dominance by pointing her tail down instead of up. Either way she looks very uncomfortable 😣 and like she needs to poop. No bird needs to walk around like that looks like it feels anyway. Good luck with her! I cannot type tonight at all. So sorry.
I saw her poop, and it looks normal. She must have pecking order, teenager complex. Glad it's not something emergent.
 
My little Parsley held her tail down for a little while. It's a sign that they don't feel well. She ate and drank fine. No discharge from her nose and no sneezing. Normal poops. Ran around with the rest of them. Face wasn't pale. I was very confused until I found mites in the coop. After treating the coop and my birds she returned to normal within a short amount of time.
 

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