Possible dislocation of hip (s) and chicken sling

[Shawneegyrl]

My beautiful little SS appears to have dislocated hips or ligament damage. I am sure it is not disease, as my little grand-daughter "caught" her the evening before I noticed a problem. I am sure g-daughter fell on or pushed the SS down causing the damage.

In Maleficent's struggle to move around she seems to be worse over the last two days and this morning I made a quick sling and rigged her up in a birdcage with food and water.

She has been eating and drinking a bit, but most of the time she just hangs her head and I think she is in pain. Occasionally she seems to have a bit of fight in her and struggles. Part of me rejoices that she is a fighter, but then my heart sinks because she then seems in more pain and exhausted.

I gave her a finely chopped strawberry with a baby aspirin crushed in it and she is nibbling it.

Has anyone done this with success? I so want her to recover. Then I feel guilty - Is her pain worth the recovery with possible permanent handicap?

I only took this pic because I did not want to disturb her too much after messing with putting her in the sling. It is basically a triangle with one pointed end split for her tail and poop area and the wider end under her breast for support. Sometimes she just hangs her head and other times she pulls it in close to her body. She can reach her food and water hanging there.

 

[Shawneegyrl]

No comments??

During the day I made a few adjustments to the sling and gave her a little boiled egg. She nibbled and drank a little and had a small poop.

This evening I put her into a cage with 1/2 wire on the bottom to give her a break from the sling. She floundered around a bit and got herself positioned like she wanted. I put food, water, watermelon and 1/2 tomato in for her and she really enjoyed the tomato!

It is so hot outside, I have cleaned a spot in the office to keep her inside during the day. It is also quiet and away from the other chickens who have to check her out a few times a day and agitate her.

I am still worried about her pain. Hopefully I can offer her something again tomorrow that she will like well enough to down a bit of aspirin.

 

[Shawneegyrl]

Don't know if anyone cares but I did not have a chance to report on Maleficent yesterday. I adjusted her sling and put her back into the tall birdcage and walked the grandchildren to school. When I got back she had gotten out of it and was at the bottom of the cage.

I readjusted the sling and put her lower and gave her another strawberry with a baby aspirin. A little while later she had gotten loose again.

It appeared she was in less pain and was not going to be restrained so I put her back into the wire bottom cage and fixed her food so she could scoot around to get what she wanted.

She totally chowed down on a tomato!!

She ate and floundered around to get where she wanted and seemed to be happier and maybe even not so much in pain. When I went into the office she "chatted" with me like she does when outside.
____________________________________

Today she stayed in her wire bottom cage again. She did not act at all like she was in pain, but she got another strawberry with a baby aspirin. She ate some boiled egg, watermelon, yogurt and dived into another tomato early in the day. By late morning she had made her way to the regular chicken food and was eating like she was starved.

Her wings are so long I clipped them so she can use them better to balance and move around. I think one of them is hurt also. She cannot really use her legs. She can move them some, but they will not support her

She is bright eyed now and curious about what I do when I come into the room.

I will give her more time to recover.

Now I worry more about whether she will get the use of her legs back so she can be a chicken again.

 

[katbriar]

I do not know much about chicken injuries as I a new chicken owner, but I wanted to post and say that it sounds like you are doing what you can for her and that I'm she's doing better.

I've read several posts about things (including young kids) falling on birds and it seems that the best things for their recovery are isolation, nutrition, and time. It's amazing what they can recover from.

Best of luck to you both!

 

[casportpony]

You should get a baseline weight on her and check it every few days to make sure she's maintaining a proper weight.

-Kathy

 

[Shawneegyrl]

Thanks for the encouragement and taking Maleficent's weight is a good idea. Did not think of that because I was so worried about pain at first and whether she would even eat or not.

She seems to have had a good day. Really loves the yogurt and boiled eggs and tomatoes in addition to her regular food. She took a real good poop too. She chats when I go into the room.

She has floundered around in her food at times and now she really smells but I am afraid to try to clean her up. When handling her sometimes I think may be I am causing pain, so I handle her as little as possible.

She looked like she got a leg under her like it should be and lifted just a hair, but when she tried to really move it just would not work right.

Did I mention she has a sister? I think her sister is really missing her. Grimhilde sits on the fence outside and lets me pet her. Never would either of them have allowed that before. I called them the Evil Queens - before this mishap they really deserved the names.

 

[HomeSnail]

Hi! I would feel he leg joints and the hip area. If it feels like its hot then you have a simple sprain that should clear up in about 5-8 days.

I have had my hens sprain their legs, wings and necks. All have made a recovery without any problems.

If you move the leg does it feel loose or tight. Compare it to your other chickens.

Hope this helped you out somewhat.
*I'm liking the complex sling idea lol!

-Malik

 

[Shawneegyrl]

Maleficent did not make it. She was looking really good and seemed to be improving for a few days. She actually acted pretty sassy.

Tuesday AM she seemed really down and maybe hurting more. By afternoon she had passed.

She was my favorite of the 2 girls I had, I got such a kick out of her bossy, sassy nature.

 

[casportpony]

Sorry for your loss...

Kathy

 

[HomeSnail]

Sorry for your loss I had one of my favorite hens die from something unknown which caused her to bleed to internally. That was absolutely terrible. I hope you never have to deal with anything like that.