Help! Dislocated/broken hip

[Penny_royal]

Today when I checked on my girls in the morning, one was in the nesting box and practically fell out. Apparently some time during the night, she either fell of the roost wrong, or the rooster jumped her and she tried to get away and twisted her hip… I don’t know, but her right leg is completely limp.There is no control there at all, and it just kinda flops, but is bent.

What can I do on my own to be able to determine if there is a break or not, and how can I fix this? I have her separated in little cage on a blanket, with good and water. She is alert and eating and drinking just fine. I don’t want to have to kill her for something like this.

 

[SmiYa0126]

Today when I checked on my girls in the morning, one was in the nesting box and practically fell out. Apparently some time during the night, she either fell of the roost wrong, or the rooster jumped her and she tried to get away and twisted her hip… I don’t know, but her right leg is completely limp.There is no control there at all, and it just kinda flops, but is bent.

What can I do on my own to be able to determine if there is a break or not, and how can I fix this? I have her separated in little cage on a blanket, with good and water. She is alert and eating and drinking just fine. I don’t want to have to kill her for something like this.

Can you gently feel her hip and compare it to the healthy one? Do you see any bruising? Continue to keep her in a small space so it allows her to take it easy. It's very good that she's eating and drinking.

 

[Penny_royal]

Can you gently feel her hip and compare it to the healthy one? Do you see any bruising? Continue to keep her in a small space so it allows her to take it easy. It's very good that she's eating and drinking.

I don’t feel any bruising, but I’m about to go check this morning. If anything, her leg felt slimmer but maybe because she wasn’t flexing it like the other.

And yes she is completely fine other than that. Occasionally shifts to lay differently, sometimes stands on one leg.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your chicken. How old is she, and was she vaccinated for Mareks? I would keep her separate in a wire dog crate with food and water close to he, and if she could be within sight of the other chickens for company, that would be good. It sounds like she has some leg nerve damage from her injury. If you could get a vet xray, that could tell you if it is dislocated. But if you can’t, I would limit her activity for a couple of weeks, and take it slow. She might benefit from giving a human vitamin b complex tablet, 1/2 tablet daily crushed into her food or water. Consider using a homemade chicken sling if she would tolerate it. Here are some good examples, especially posts 5, 11, and 12:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[Penny_royal]

Sorry about your chicken. How old is she, and was she vaccinated for Mareks? I would keep her separate in a wire dog crate with food and water close to he, and if she could be within sight of the other chickens for company, that would be good. It sounds like she has some leg nerve damage from her injury. If you could get a vet xray, that could tell you if it is dislocated. But if you can’t, I would limit her activity for a couple of weeks, and take it slow. She might benefit from giving a human vitamin b complex tablet, 1/2 tablet daily crushed into her food or water. Consider using a homemade chicken sling if she would tolerate it. Here are some good examples, especially posts 5, 11, and 12:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

Our chickens aren’t vaccinated for various reasons. I’ve seen mareks, but it just doesn’t have the mareks feel you know? And it was really, really sudden.

Thank you for the chicken sling examples! I think she’d tolerate that just fine so I’ll give that a go. She’s really sweet.

I’ve heard differing opinions on whether she will heal on her own or not, especially depending on if it’s a break or a dislocation: any idea how I can narrow it down? And yeah I can’t afford an x-ray and its so hard to get anyone to see a bird around here. so jealous of people whose large animal vets will help them out when they can..

 

[Penny_royal]

Sorry about your chicken. How old is she, and was she vaccinated for Mareks? I would keep her separate in a wire dog crate with food and water close to he, and if she could be within sight of the other chickens for company, that would be good. It sounds like she has some leg nerve damage from her injury. If you could get a vet xray, that could tell you if it is dislocated. But if you can’t, I would limit her activity for a couple of weeks, and take it slow. She might benefit from giving a human vitamin b complex tablet, 1/2 tablet daily crushed into her food or water. Consider using a homemade chicken sling if she would tolerate it. Here are some good examples, especially posts 5, 11, and 12:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

I ended up making a really awesome chicken song for her. She is much more comfortable in it. I’ve been giving her some meloxicam, and put a dose of liquid vitamin B in her water. I tried to feel more closely what was going on, and I can tell the injury is at the top of her leg, close to her hip. I hear a grinding noise if I move her leg. Does that mean it’s probably broken? There’s no swelling that I’ve noticed so I’m a little thrown off.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Carefully ... try feeling at the joint, does it feel like a separation? Feel along the leg, start from the top/hip & work your way down, do you feel any separation? IF not then it's a bruise and will heal itself. IF it's a dislocation or break, you need a Vet unless someone like @Eggcessive will be able to better advise you.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am not a vet, and I haven’t had any chickens with broken legs or dislocated joints. But I have read that upper leg fractures are very hard to treat without surgery. Splinting is impossible to do on a thigh or hip. A dislocated hip would need to be seen by a vet. So if a vet is not possible for an xray, then I would just kept her on limited activity and in the sling for periods throughout the day.

 

[Penny_royal]

Carefully ... try feeling at the joint, does it feel like a separation? Feel along the leg, start from the top/hip & work your way down, do you feel any separation? IF not then it's a bruise and will heal itself. IF it's a dislocation or break, you need a Vet unless someone like @Eggcessive will be able to better advise you.

I did feel what felt like a break. But I’ve never felt a broken bone in my life so I’m second guessing myself. Could she have broken the bone clean in half? Her leg is 100% limp, no control.

 

[Penny_royal]

I am not a vet, and I haven’t had any chickens with broken legs or dislocated joints. But I have read that upper leg fractures are very hard to treat without surgery. Splinting is impossible to do on a thigh or hip. A dislocated hip would need to be seen by a vet. So if a vet is not possible for an xray, then I would just kept her on limited activity and in the sling for periods throughout the day.

Yeah, we just can’t do the vet every time something is wrong with our chickens, especially so much of it can’t be mended. I do my best and am learning how to fix various issues, and recognize when they need to be put out of their pain.

Her activity is limited, I tried to splint/wrap her leg as best as I could, but it is very high up so not sure how much good it will do. She’s in a sling for part of the day. Keeps the weight off well and she can still put some weight on her other leg to use it. The injury is pretty immobile, but I guess I’ll have to see how she progresses.