is this a 'special needs' bantam? a malformation? a breed i don't know? or - *gasp* - marek's?

[romea]

i ‘rescued’ 3 bantam chickens which - i was told - needed to be re-homed due to being pecked at by other, bigger chickens…
the lady was anxious to find a home before the winter. (winter? according to my calendar, that's not going happen before november.)
in any event, i was also told that the chickens were 9 weeks old (although they already have rather luscious tail feathers), came from some local breeder and that they have been on layer food (sic!) all along. that and some very sweet pictures convinced me that i needed to do something…

we met at a parking lot and she transferred the bantams from her kennel into my carrier. at home, i released the guys into a separate enclosure and noticed that one of these 3 bantams appears to be unable to stand. instead she seems to be waddling around.

naturally, i called the seller and asked about this chicken but apparently she had not noticed any problem and was overall rather mute.

so here i am, trying to figure out if this is 1. a genetically modified bantam (= genetic disorder), 2. a ‘low riding’ type, 3. a sick little puppy (marek’s?!?) or 4. simply a chicken that is showing a vitamin deficiency...

this shows her inside their separate temporary coop:



i am seeing a very rounded and somewhat protruding crop which might be a tad squishy to the touch.



i can not tell if she is sitting or standing…
… so i am lifting her up a little to take a picture of her undercarriage ;-):



close-up of her feet:



and here she flops down again, holding her tail up high:



besides the awkward walk (no curled toes), i am noticing a slightly naked belly - possibly due to the ‘scraping along the floor’ (?).

i started all three on poly-vi-sol (no iron) immediately and am giving her an additional B-complex (both orally). i am also adding a standard poultry vitamin & electrolyte mix (stress-aid) to their drinking water.
i am, of course, keeping them separate from the rest of my flock.

can anybody give advice re: this ‘low rider’? also, while i recognize the 2 brown chickens are “bearded/bardu d’anvers” (or simply belgian bantams) - what is this ‘special needs’ chicken?

 

[Pyxis]

Could she be a birchen japanese bantam? They're bred to have really short legs, which can cause all sorts of problems, and, I believe, is actually fatal if the embryo inherits two copies of the gene that causes it.

 

[romea]

OMG - that's exactly it.
why people breed such creatures is beyond me.

she will be on the lowest end of the pecking order... i hope i can match her with some very docile silkies who will hopefully be accepting her.

btw: i took the little group indoors and provided a carrier (as well as a low roost) inside their enclosure. when i checked on them again later, all three where sitting on top of the carrier and, thus, about a foot off the ground. i have no idea how she got up there.