10-week old chick with bendy legs, goose-stepping on tiptoe - ideas?

It was really hard to get a picture of, but I have a chick (I call her Peep) who is doing some very distinct goose-stepping on tippytoe when she walks. Her walk is very wobbly and she falls down every few steps. When she stops and sits, she rests on one knee, but it seems to alternate (it's not just one leg). She is obviously in some discomfort. I've done a search and can't find anything like this...isn't she too old for spraddle leg? I apologize for the long post, but here are the details:

1) What type of bird , age and weight.
Peep is a silkie x barred rock chick, about 10 weeks old. Not sure about gender.

2) What is the behavior, exactly.
This chick is having a lot of trouble walking. Its legs seem to work for only a few steps and then give out. When the chick does walk, it's on tiptoes with legs straight, like a goose-stepping Nazi. Then she wobbles and falls down

3) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma.
We picked up Peep and checked her carefully, feeling her legs and feet gently on all sides. Nothing feels broken, the joints seem to work OK, and she didn't squawk when any particular part was touched. There are no cuts or apparent injuries, and her toes and the bottoms of her feet look fine.

4) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.
No idea. There was a lot of squawking in the coop this morning right before we let them out, so it's possible she was attacked by a 12-week old BR cockerel or (less likely) a tiny sebright cockerel. But if so, there's no apparent damage.

5) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.
Not sure - she's in an outdoor coop and large run with food and water available, but I can't watch her all day to see what she eats. Food available is either Start & Grow or Layena, plus normal outdoor stuff like bugs and grass. I brought her some treats this afternoon and she ate them with enthusiasm, so I think her appetite is OK.

6) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.
Definitely runny poop.

7) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?
Nothing yet, no idea what to do. We've kicked the cockerels out of that pen, so it's just Peep and Mellow in there now.

8 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?
I would prefer to treat this myself, don't really have the resources to take a chick to the vet.

9) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.
Pics follow...

10) Describe the housing/bedding in use
This chick is in a small 4'x4' outdoor coop with her mama (a Silkie named Mellow) and a little 6-month-old sebright cockerel. They are closed into the coop at night and let out in a large run in the morning. We did have a 12-week old barred rock cockerel in the coop this morning too. There are pine shavings on the floor, a roost across the back, and a nest box with hay in it - I found Peep and Mellow in the nest box this morning.

Here are the pics - not the best because it was raining:

That's what we call "walking on her hocks". It's a sign of vitamin deficiency.

First, all these babies should have grower feed. It's very important to their development - not only of their leg, but their reproductive tracts. Making sure they eat grower will help you have less egg laying issues in their later life as their organs will have developed properly (in combination with appropriate diet and calcium supplementation in the correct manner).

Can you verify that she' neither bow-legged, nor to her legs bend at the bone - just you mean bending by her walking on her hocks, her "elbows"?

She (and the rest of the babies) need supplementation. You will want to keep her up for a week and give her a 1/2 a B-complex tablet daily in some sort of wet treat, crushed up. You will also give her polyvisol baby vitamins without iron, 3 drops daily in the beak or on a tiny piece of bread. Also, if she'll eat it, yogurt 1/2 teaspoon daily. The riboflavin in the yogurt is helpful as are the good bacteria. The B-complex has a range of all the different commonly needed B vitamins (there's more than one) and these B vitamins are more often implicated in this condition particularly at this age.

Do they roost together? Is it possible at least for the first feedin gof the day to keep them separate so that they eat their age-appropriate food?

All of the birds must receive a vitamin supplement in their water for no less than one week. If it's in one baby, likely other babies are having issuse but not showing it yet. You can also try feeding a supplement called Fastrack (for horses) to all of the birds other than this one. Fastrack contains yeast and that sort of live-cell yeast produces B vitamins. The living bacteria/yeast in the product will also help all your birds' health.

This needs to be done immediately to prevent this condition from progressing. B-complex vitamins literally say that on the label and are easily found in the vitamin section of most drug stores and in Walmart. So is the polyvisol - in the vitamin section, not the baby section. Get the one withOUT iron fortification (there are 2 formulas).

She's a lovely chick and I hope we can help you get her fixed back up.

threehorses, thanks for your reply. Walking on her hocks describes it well.

This chick is not bowlegged, nor are the legs bending at the bone, it's definitely at the hocks. At first I thought they were bending the wrong way but they're not (thank goodness!).

Peep is an only chick - her mama went broody over just three eggs, and the other two didn't make it to hatch - so it's just Peep and her mama in a small coop (we have a maternity ward ) with its own pen, separate from the rest of the flock. I'd have to separate them in order to give them different food, and I'd rather not do that, but I can remove the Layena so Peep gets ONLY chick food. Would it be OK for Mellow (mama) to eat Start & Grow for little while...maybe if I give her some extra calcium? Or should I bring Peep indoors for a little while so I can keep the food separate and keep a closer eye on her?

I already have some B-complex I can give Peep, and will start on that tomorrow. I'll look for some no-iron Poly Vi Sol at CVS tomorrow. I can't take vitamins with iron either, so I know what to look for. You said I should give her 3 drops in the beak, but then said it should go in the water - do I need to put it in both places? Or does a different vitamin supplement go in the water?

Sorry for all the questions...I've had chickens for more than a year and we have 30+ chickens but haven't had a sick one until now! I think we've been lucky

Thank you again!!

Oh well it's ok if it's just the two of them. I'd still find a way to get her the better food. Maybe just feed them both grower and give mama the necessary oyster shell free choice (the baby won't bother it). I'd just use the grower. I think that should help.

Good on the B-complex. I hope in this case we see some immediate relief, but be aware usually these things take days/weeks to brew and sometimes take a while to fix. We just don't see it happening as birds are pro at keeping things masked.

On the water, I meant other babies if you had others. But since it's just she, just do the polyvisol. If this were a flock of say 8 babies, all the same age and conditions, then you'd want to make sure they all had more B vitamins in the assumption that they all could be deficient, this one just being the sentinel - showing the symptoms first. But it's just one - so polyvisol it is.

Sounds like you've done things well so far. I see the mix this baby is and wonder if maybe it's partially a silky thing. Though some people say they have no problems with silkies, others seem to have a little bit more problem getting all the vitamins they need.

Thanks for clarifying...I know I asked a lot of n00b questions

DH fixed up a bin for Peep in the basement and brought her inside this morning (he works at home). We decided this would be a good way to keep an eye on her, keep her away from the other chickens, and we can be sure she's getting the right food - and if there are any other symptoms, we will notice them sooner. DH says she is eating and drinking fine, so I'm optimistic that we can fix her. Will keep you posted!

I will look into whether this tends to be an issue with silkies. Mellow has hatched one other batch of chicks this year, and although only one of them is hers (another silkie x barred rock mix), she seems to be doing just fine at five months old.