large rooster suddenly can't stand up - i'm clueless

[big_mama_hughes]

hi, all, i'm new here. i read through some threads hoping to find some answers, but all in really got was that i've been raising my chickens the wrong way.

anyway, i have a rooster who was hatched around may 20th, he's my "alpha" rooster, very large in size and attitude - but still nicely approachable, as long as you stay on your toes (and wear protective gloves). but to get to the point, last night i noticed that when i went to put him in the coop for the night, he didn't stand up when i came near him. he let me pick him right up with no fuss whatsoever (now, he doesn't generally fuss when i pick him up, but i usually have to pet his head for a minute and cluck at him to avoid getting pecked) and deposit him in the coop. i thought that was a little odd, and i thought it odder still when he didn't stand up in the coop.

i figured i'd let him sleep on it and check him out more thoroughly in the morning...so this morning, he was still sitting in the coop. i brought him out and put him on the ground - still no standing. his legs aren't stiff, but he seems to have no control over his talons. i turned him over to check out the bottoms of his feet (which he did not love), but they look fine. of course, not being a big chicken expert, i could be way off.

my other chickens (3 others) are fine. any ideas of what's wrong with my big boy?

tia!
ame

 

[GreenGoddess]

First off,

.. Secondly, what kind of rooster is he? If he was hatched March 20 then he is only 13 weeks old (same age as my youngest chicks).. I wouldn't think he would be all that big, unless he's a cornish or other meat bird? could you answer the questions in the sticky at the top of this forum and maybe post a few pics of him to give us a better "look" at him? Also, how have you been raising your chickens "the wrong way"?

Goddess

 

[big_mama_hughes]

thanks

well, when i say he's big, i mean in relation to the other chickens. as far as breeds go, he looks like a regular old leghorn (we adopted these birds as chicks when my daughter's 1st grade class hatched them in may, and the teachers had no idea what kind of eggs they got). he probably weighs...oh, i don't know, maybe 15 pounds or so.

i'll try to get some pics of him.

raising them wrong - when i bought my chicken supplies at tractor supply, they had a quick reference sheet for raising chickens. i basically went by that sheet. they're free range (in coop at night, obviously), but i've been feeding them the feed & grit from tsc (and nothing else but what they forage). never medicated, never wormed, nada. from what i've read here today, that's not good. i feel like a very bad chicken mother.

and speaking of chickens, my baby just went down for a nap, so now it's time to walk dogs and clean the chicken coop. i'll get pics while i'm out there.