Hello! I have a Mottled Houdan cockerel, about 14 weeks I think (plus or minus two or three weeks, I'm terrible at keeping track of my birds' ages) who has a very odd condition... he is very tall and gamey looking, way more than most Houdans, and almost to the point where I think he might have some other kind of gamefowl in him. Now personally, I love the gamefowl look, so that's not the issue, but I have noticed him spending most of his time sitting down on his hocks. He can stand and run, but rarely does. I've heard some of the Oriental Gamefowl breeds, mainly Malays, will do this but not be able to get back up, whereas like I said, this guy can. So, I really like his colors and temperament and would love to cross him with some other breeds of hens, but is it wise to do this with his hock issue? Will the chicks have it? And what is it caused by, exactly?
