Dislocated Hip?

[SecondWorldFarm]

Hello dear forum!

One of our RIR was out in the elements for a few days here in Hawaii (mild weather) but we had a LOT of rain.

She was found outside the cage a few days later, swollen/bloated and I nursed her back to health. Now she eats and drinks fine, but her leg is very strange.

She doesn't seem to be able to use her left leg normally. When she pushes with it, she extends it far back behind her, and she doesn't walk on it, but scoots around with a limp and using her wings.

Can anything be done? Broken chickens don't seem to fix themselves very well! Thanks for listening. Appreciate any comments.

(PS--I have a picture I could post as well, but I don't know how to post pics yet...)

Thanks,
Thomas

 

[SecondWorldFarm]

Bump!

Our chicken is still healthy but I'm not sure with her leg moving backward if it is humane to keep her alive disabled or to put her out of her misery.
She seems to be able to get around a 10 foot area in our backyard but doesn't seem to have a lot of will to move much with her leg/hip.

Any ideas out there? Thanks for reading this,

-Thomas

 

[ChickenCoder]

Are her hocks swollen? Redness/tenderness?

Something similar happened to one of our pullets not long after we first brought her home; she just started holder her leg close to her body and limping/flapping around. Comparing one hock to the other, the right one was quite swollen and very red, although it didn't appear to be tender to the touch. The vet said it was a sprained tibia tarsal joint (essentially, the hock); nothing to worry about, it would heal on its own and she'd be using it in a week or so. That was about 2 months ago, and now she's the fastest of the lot.

My advice would be to give her another week or two and watch for any signs of improvement. If you're still concerned or unwilling to wait, try calling the vets in your area to see if they have any specials; the local VCA near my place was running a new client special - the first exam was free with a coupon (so, $60 off!)

Good luck!

 

[SecondWorldFarm]

Thanks so much! She HAS shown improvement lately, so maybe it will be alright.

I'll let you know,

Thanks again!
-Thomas