Lame cockerel, no swelling

[Lunawriter]

Hi,

I have a leghorn cockerel that is suddenly lame. Yesterday I noticed him limping, but couldn't catch him. Today he practically fell out the coop door and I picked him right up. His right foot seems pretty nerveless and won't lie flat on the ground when he tries to walk. It won't support his weight. I saw a small scratch right behind that foot, but no swelling anywhere, no crusty scabs--nothing.

To be quite honest, I'm not planning to keep him for breeding. He is one of two leghorn roos I have and I was going to use them for "practice" for processing chickens in the next week or so (I know that sounds terrible, but I need to learn). I still hate to see him hurting, though.

I have him isolated with food and water and I'm trying to decide what to do next. I do want to know whether I'm dealing with something contagious. Can you give me an idea of what I might look for to figure out what's wrong? Thanks!