My 6 Month Old Disabled Roo Morty; genetic or injury? Consistent Issue :(

[PlagChickenDoc]

Hello, I recently joined and showed off my pretty roo but here is the issue that has been plaguing me for months. I am not sure if his leg issue is a combination of injury, early life vitamin deficiency, or if what I have been told all along is the case and that he has a genetic issue.

I recently found out its his left leg that has been giving him issues. It is not paralyzed, in fact touching his feet or hock results in a response so the nerves aren't dead. No breaks or swelling from what I can tell; been checking. He first exhibited issues at around 8 weeks. He couldn't stand or walk right on July 11th (He was born May 17th). Not sure if he and his brothers got into a tussle but that is when his issues were first noticed. He didn't seem out of the ordinary from hatch to week 8.

I gave him Poultry Cell, extremely tiny daily doses of Selenium + Vitamin E gel (like a pea sized amount everyday for a week, then 2 times the next week, and now only occasionally). He eats poultry feed of the Alber's variety. For a while the supplements seemed to help him heal and make amazing improvements and he was able to hop around, but recently he went back to square one and sits on his hock (I have an image to convey) sometime after he had a short fall from tumbling onto this sheet I have over his indoor pen (he has a pack & play for a pen; fret not he gets many cuddles and attention) but I am not 100% certain if that caused him to fall back in progress. I am 99% certain he does NOT have Mareks, but he does have a younger full-blooded sister who exhibits very similar symptoms, and had a half sibling chick who only lived 3 days with similar leg problems and leg pains.

It did take me until late August before I could get him poultry cell when the issue first arose (this is my first time raising chickens, especially from hatch) and sadly not very many vets will look at chickens or allow payment plans. I just want to make my rooster comfortable.

Despite his leg issues, he is very alert. He wages war against baby wipes when he sees them, he screams in joy at snacks he wants, is eating his food and drinking his water and poultry cell stuff. Could this be genetic, or an injury that went too long without proper...medical care?

Sorry for the wall-text! I dont know where else to ask.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

I’ve got a quail who’s kind of like that. Unfortunately I don’t have any others of her breed, and her leg problems are most likely from my inexperience when I first got her. She’s very skittish, but seems to be doing well physically, even with her deformed leg. She can’t exactly walk, but she’s surprisingly good at shuffling across her cage floor whenever I need to take her out and clean the tray. I don’t have much input on your bird, aside from “yeah, things happen, yours is probably a genetic problem” but I do hope your rooster does well and has a good life.