Young Roo w/ Weak legs

[ShadesofSable]

I have a young BCW polish cockerel of about 4 months that's been getting picked on by the other chickens and has started to develop a wobbly gait and seems to be weak in the legs. He seems otherwise fine and will eat and drink, I haven't tried him on vitamins or wormers yet. He was bought from a hatchery (as a pullet, but I guess a few boys slip through) and was supposedly vaccinated, so I'm hoping it's just that he's low man on the pecking order and not getting enough nutrients.

Any other thoughts or am I on the right track with giving him some vitamins and wormer and seeing how he does? All the others in his group and our older group seem to be doing fine.

 

[Jucodeo]

I am so sorry to hear about one of your own from your flock is injured. The first thing to do is try and determine if there is any external injury, punctures, or breaks in the skin. Next would be to gently examine the condition of toes and leg bones for breaks.
It would be more difficult to check pelvic bones, but you may be able to determine breaks, especially combined with external trauma.
Sometimes you may find a chicken paralyzed temporarily with fear when grabbed by a predator and somehow escaping. They are often easy to pick up and handle in this condition.
Calming them and placing them in the coop or other safe area will often allow them to snap out of shock and quickly return to normal. Any wounds should be examined, cleaned and treated. Hydrogen peroxide is a good wound cleaner.
A chicken with a large wound should be isolated in a clean cage and kept warm. Other chickens may peck at a wound slowing down the healing process. Being in the coop and chicken yard may expose the wound to bacteria, further slowing the healing process. I hope this helps and I am hoping your chicken feels better. If your chickens condition gets any worse I would recommend posting its condition unto our emergency forum the link is https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures Please keep posting about your chickens condition and I hope that the chicken gets better!
Justin

 

[ShadesofSable]

I am so sorry to hear about one of your own from your flock is injured. The first thing to do is try and determine if there is any external injury, punctures, or breaks in the skin. Next would be to gently examine the condition of toes and leg bones for breaks.
It would be more difficult to check pelvic bones, but you may be able to determine breaks, especially combined with external trauma.
Sometimes you may find a chicken paralyzed temporarily with fear when grabbed by a predator and somehow escaping. They are often easy to pick up and handle in this condition.
Calming them and placing them in the coop[COLOR=0000EE] [/COLOR]or other safe area will often allow them to snap out of shock and quickly return to normal. Any wounds should be examined, cleaned and treated. Hydrogen peroxide is a good wound cleaner.
A chicken with a large wound should be isolated in a clean cage and kept warm. Other chickens may peck at a wound slowing down the healing process. Being in the coop and chicken yard may expose the wound to bacteria, further slowing the healing process. I hope this helps and I am hoping your chicken feels better. If your chickens condition gets any worse I would recommend posting its condition unto our emergency forum the link is     https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/10/emergencies-diseases-injuries-and-cures   Please keep posting about your chickens condition and I hope that the chicken gets better!
Justin 

I so far haven't been able to identify any hurts, he's kept in a pen/run so no big predator activity. Rats get in sometimes though. He curls his toes up a little bit and I think that's the source of the unsteadiness. Been giving the flock vitamins in their water every day for a few days now, and he seems steadier! Hopefully after a few weeks he'll be back to normal.