4 week old lethargic chick with leg problem

[nicemove10]

As a result of my Embryology course in college I have been blessed with a 4 week old chicken. I have no idea what breed he might be but he is currently all white. He was the smallest and most pitiful looking of the bunch so nobody else wanted him. He grew slower than the others and had splayed legs at 3 days old which I successfully corrected. Otherwise he was healthy until I started bringing him outside to run around for the first time like 3 days ago. It was about 80 degrees outside and I was out there with him for about a half hr then I brought him back inside. He stays in an animal playpen lined with newspaper. After I brought him in I noticed that he was lethargic and his right leg kept sliding backwards so he was always in a bladed stance. That night he just stood in one spot pretty much with his eyes closed. When I would walk over to him he would open them and "talk" to me. He still eats and drinks normal and his stool still looks normal to me. The next day he looked more alert but today he is the same as yesterday and still not himself. Is it time for the vet or is there anything I can do?

One last thing, when he was a few days old, the bigger chicks picked out his little down feathers from his rear end so he has pretty much been bald back there since. He has his big boy feathers starting to grow in back there but everyone who sees him thinks there is something wrong with his rear end because it looks big. I just figured I would ask if it was normal or not because honestly I have never really seen a chicken butt. Especially a bald one. I have included pictures. He's got some poop stuck to his rear end that we've been working on for a few minutes now but its not blocking his vent. Thank you for any advice you may have.

 

[Renee]

Hi nicemove,
Your photos are not appearing.

What are you feeding him?

Is he drinking and eating?

 

[nicemove10]

Sorry about that I'm going to try to post them again. Up at school the chicks were eating a bag of food titled "game bird food." It came with them from the same company that shipped out the eggs. He has been eating and drinking pretty normal still.

 

[nicemove10]

He still looks pretty much the same today. Last night he didn't eat much or poop. This morning his only poop so far was liquidy and white. It was really small.

 

[Judy]

He needs a warm bath to soak the poop off. Then put some lubrication on the butt: Vaseline, Neosporin, veg. oil, whatever you have. I would put him on amprolium to help him develop resistance to cocci, probably a round of Corid at this point. Game bird feed is nutritious, but regular chick starter is available that already has amprolium in it. If he slips at all on those newspapers, he needs something he can get better traction on; newspapers can actually cause slayed leg in a newborn chick.

Here is a thread with lots of info on the various diseases chicks can get:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=185608

 

[Judy]

BTW, they are flock animals, and he needs a friend! Stuffed animal or feather duster is better than nothing, along with a small mirror.

 

[nicemove10]

Thanks for the reply. He has 2 stuffed chicks and a mirror for now. He is avoiding his regular food for some reason and sleeping a lot. When I put his water in front of him he drinks. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast and gave him a little bit and he went nuts over it. He also went nuts over some oatmeal I offered him. He seems to be breathing a little heavier now.