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Dislocated Hip?? and Wonky Chick

PurpleCArTires

Crowing
Sep 23, 2020
588
1,293
251
Taneytown
Well I have two that are acting off. I am sorry for the long post, but I want to include all the details.

The First is Mary Lou. She is a RIR/EE mix approx. 6 months old. I found her one morning holding her leg up. I immediately inspected her - found no external injuries or blood, or swelling - so I put her in a segregation pen. I have a feeling she either broke or dislocated her hip. She hobbled around for about a week and then gave up. She wont use her good leg to get around anymore, so now she is in a sling in my living room so she can eat. She has been inside for about a week. She spends a few hours in the sling, then in a small cage with rolled towels to help her balance. and during the day she goes outside and lays around in the grass and sun. At first her "broken leg" just hung like a wet noodle, but over the past two days she is starting to move her toes and pull the leg into her body. SO I believe she is recovering. She does try to stand on the good leg, but steps on her wing and falls over. She still eats like a horse and has normal poo. I am looking for tips on anything I can do to help. I have given her nutridrench and extra protein (in the form of scrambled eggs and meat bird mash).

The second chicken is Midget. She is a RSL/Freedom Ranger mix approx. 1 year old. She was born with very short legs and a small body, but she has always been extremely spunky. The day before we went on vacation at the start of October, I was putting food in their bowls and I accidently spilled some on her head. She froze and screamed bloody murder. After about a minute she stopped screaming and just went on with her business of eating. I didn't think much of it until I came back from vacation and found her sleeping on the floor instead of roosting. This was around the same time Mary Lou "broke" her hip, so I put her in the separate pen with Mary Lou to watch her. She would just lay around in the grass. eventually she got so weak, I could just push her over and she would roll with her legs strait up in the air. I thought about culling her. But the day I decided to do it, she was up and eating like nothing happened. WTFFF Midget?! So for about a week she was fine, so I attempted to move her back into the coop. She was immediately pecked by the other hens and they wouldn't let her inside. I found her that night outside in the pouring rain. So I brought her into the house to warm up and dry off. She went into a seizure type episode. She was on her side "walking" in circles with her neck bent far back and huge pupils. I thought she was dying. A few minutes later she stopped and just laid there. I thought she was dead, but she wasn't. So I sat her up and she proceeded to eat like nothing happened. I am thinking this is neurological, she has no external injuries. I am not sure if there is anything I can do for her. I'd like to save her since she is such a cool little lady, but I dont want her to suffer. She has also received nutridrench and extra protein. What are your thoughts?

I was thinking about b-complex, but I am struggling to find how to administer and how much to give them.


Thank you in advance for the replies and your suggestions. I love this forum and I am so thankful to have a place to turn to ask these questions. :love
 
Can you post pictures? I agree with your assessment, I think a b complex would be good for Midget. 1/2 pill once a day until she shows improvement.

It sounds like you're doing what's good for your first girl. I would keep her in a small space until she can bear weight. Can you feel if there is a difference between her good leg and her bum leg?
 
There isn't much to see in the pictures

Mary Lou in her sling (the bad leg is in the foreground)
IMG_20221101_202930301.jpg

Midget sleeping
IMG_20221101_203000967_HDR.jpg

I can get a video of them "walking" around tomorrow
 
Can you post pictures? I agree with your assessment, I think a b complex would be good for Midget. 1/2 pill once a day until she shows improvement.

It sounds like you're doing what's good for your first girl. I would keep her in a small space until she can bear weight. Can you feel if there is a difference between her good leg and her bum leg?
Thank you. I have b-complex injectable. How much of that should I give her?

Mary Lou's legs feel the same. I can't feel any swelling or anything in her bum leg.
 
The coincidence of both of these chickens coming down with these symptoms has me suspect an avian virus, leaning toward it being lymphoid leucosis. The symptoms remind me of my own experience a couple years ago with three pullets of mine. I made a thread (very long) documenting what happened. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...update-now-another-pullet-going-lame.1432738/

I suggest you treat both with the vitamin B complex. They need specifically B-2, 6 and 12. Complex has them all. How much of each is in your injectible? It should be at least 50mg of each to be therapeutic. You can get B-100 complex at Walmart. It's what I use as it has 100mg of each B needed.

Also, give them both a vitamin E 400iu capsule each day. I just pop the pills right into the beak. No problem swallowing them.

If the two get better have several weeks without relapsing, then it's just a deficiency. But if they continue to worsen, I would then suspect an avian virus.
 
The coincidence of both of these chickens coming down with these symptoms has me suspect an avian virus, leaning toward it being lymphoid leucosis. The symptoms remind me of my own experience a couple years ago with three pullets of mine. I made a thread (very long) documenting what happened. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...update-now-another-pullet-going-lame.1432738/

I suggest you treat both with the vitamin B complex. They need specifically B-2, 6 and 12. Complex has them all. How much of each is in your injectible? It should be at least 50mg of each to be therapeutic. You can get B-100 complex at Walmart. It's what I use as it has 100mg of each B needed.

Also, give them both a vitamin E 400iu capsule each day. I just pop the pills right into the beak. No problem swallowing them.

If the two get better have several weeks without relapsing, then it's just a deficiency. But if they continue to worsen, I would then suspect an avian virus.
I have this B-complex. Is 1/4 ml a day good?
 

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I would give the B complex orally, after removing the needle, and give 1/4 ml every day. Were your chickens vaccinated for Mareks disease? I hope they get better.
Give this 1/4ml daily? I have big vitamin E capsules, but I've cut them and squeezed into a chicken for wry neck before, so I'll do the same for them.

No they haven't. It might be Marek's. Apparently my neighbors chickens had it and it killed her whole flock. I know it can spread in the wind. I have been a closed flock, so all mine are born here and we don't vaccinate. I also don't sell live birds, just in case. We had a few die this year mysteriously, but I haven't had them tested.

In Midget and Mary Lou's case, I haven't had any with these issues before. All the deaths we have had were extreme weight loss, sudden death, and a few reproductive issues (who I culled)
 

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