Chicken constantly sitting/laying down, is this a sign of illness?

[Cmbstev]

I have this boy (9-10 wks old) who consistently sits to forage, when the others roam about. He’s always been on the thin side, but seems to have put on more weight as he’s grown. At times he almost seems to have balance issues and slides back to a slow fall, and maybe that’s why he sits. The way he sits is also different than how our other chickens sit. He leans back and then goes down, the others sit straight down. His tail tends to point up when he is sitting

He seems to eat, drink, poop and roost just fine (aside from being a little shaky at first when jumping up), crop seems fine, doesn’t act like he is affected by anything or in pain. Any ideas or am I just over-watchful with his mannerisms? I have added some photos and can take more if needed.

Thanks in advance!

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC. Does he usually sit funny with the one leg forward?

 

[Cmbstev]

Welcome to BYC. Does he usually sit funny with the one leg forward?

Hi! Thanks both legs are usually tucked under the same amount, he will just shuffle a little sometimes when laying down eating weeds like that

 

[casportpony]

One picture shows his right leg forward, and another picture shows both forward. When I see this I worry about Marek's.

 

[casportpony]

Can you take a video of him walking, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo then copy and paste the link here?

 

[Cmbstev]

Can you take a video of him walking, upload it to YouTube or Vimeo then copy and paste the link here?

I will try tomorrow

 

[micstrachan]

I agree the video would be helpful. How many birds do you have and what ages? If you have a large flock, are there multiple feeders? I wonder if it’s possible he could be bullied away from feed and not getting proper nutrition. Do you think that’s possible here?