Chicken Hip

[Owain1]

I've read other threads on dislocated hips, but have a more specific question. I don't know what happened to my chicken. It could have been caught by a predator or it could have jumped from too high. One of my one year old hens wouldn't get up or put weight on her right leg (this happened in the middle of the day and they free range). I couldn't find anything wrong with the foot, and she doesn't seem to have pain there. It seems to be in the hip. The dominant hen immediately started attacking her so I isolated her in a dog crate (with food and water) for a week. After a few days she started standing on her left foot all day. I let her out and she now hobbles around but doesn't put too much weight on that foot, just kind of jumps over it. She is acting pretty much normal and last night went on her perch again, but still hobbles about. I'm wondering if people thinks she will keep getting better or is this going to make her lame from now on if I don't take her to a vet. What would you do?

 

[Sablehaven]

I had a chicken take a bad fall once, couldn't hold her wing up and wouldn't put weight on her leg. She made a full recovery after a week or so.

I can't speak for every case, but if she isn't in much pain, she should recover fine. Just protect her from excess strain, but let her move around. And of course monitor that it isn't getting worse

Good luck!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've read other threads on dislocated hips, but have a more specific question. I don't know what happened to my chicken. It could have been caught by a predator or it could have jumped from too high. One of my one year old hens wouldn't get up or put weight on her right leg (this happened in the middle of the day and they free range). I couldn't find anything wrong with the foot, and she doesn't seem to have pain there. It seems to be in the hip. The dominant hen immediately started attacking her so I isolated her in a dog crate (with food and water) for a week. After a few days she started standing on her left foot all day. I let her out and she now hobbles around but doesn't put too much weight on that foot, just kind of jumps over it. She is acting pretty much normal and last night went on her perch again, but still hobbles about. I'm wondering if people thinks she will keep getting better or is this going to make her lame from now on if I don't take her to a vet. What would you do?

Can you get a video of her movement? Upload video to youtube and provide a link.

Does this hen still lay eggs? When's the last time?

If it's injury, it may take a few weeks of restricted activity to see improvement. It's hard to know sometimes the cause of limping. The Head Hen attacking her is interesting though, I would wonder if she has something else going on.

 

[J-Danger]

I don't know if this is relevant, but could giving her some riboflavin (aka vitamin B2) help? I have a chick with a hip issue and it has come up in my reading. I think it helps with muscle/cell development and may aid in the healing process.

In my reading others have mentioned buying a human b-vitamin mix and crushing it up for the chick to consume. I found a liquid vitamin mix for chickens which I am using, and maybe your country has a similar product available?

I also think restricting movement would be a great idea. How you would achieve this beyond keeping the chicken in a small cage, I am not certain.