One of the birds that went to my sisters place last weekend to live out its days in their new aviary has alwasy had issues.

 

It has the increase keratin formation on its cere, the feathersa round its eyes have never grown right, its nail always overgrow, however today it was retruned to me with the most serious problem. It seems to have suffered some form of hip displacement. One leg, the left, shoots out to the side on a strange angle. I checked her leg and it is not broken. But the bones around the hip seem funny. She uses the leg to balance and stabilise herself, and can shuffle sideways along a perch, but if you put something else on the perch, say a piece of spinach pokking through the wire of cage, she cannot jump it as she does not have the strength.

 

I have had budgies with broken legs, and this is not that, as with the broken leg, the leg is lifeless of the colour has changed. This is not like that.

 

I am wondering if hip disaplcement is common, or if anyone has experienced this before.

 

My own treament methods? I am giving her a few days in a cage to assess her well being. She is calling out to others and obviously wants to be with others, but the perching and movement issue is a problem. We will see.

 

I know that many birds live with one leg. Like I said, this is a hip issue, not a leg issue. I will make a call soon.

 

I will also put up some pics soon.

I have seen it develop in chicks but i have never seen an adult suddenly get it.

I have a young bird that has one leg that shoots out the side. It is different to splayed legs. I tried everything to get the leg right when it was a chick, but nothing would stop the leg popping out of joint. The chick is doing fine with its funny leg, and she gets around fine and is able to perch still.

 

Getting the vet to do leg removal from the hip is a very big operation for a little bird... removals from the knee are not as bad.

 

You could try strapping the leg in the correct position for a while and hope that it goes back in place. But if its a true hip displacement, then there may not be much that can be done.... keep an eye out for pain, she will squint her eyes when in pain.

Edited December 19, 200915 yr by **Liv**

Thanks Liv for the info.

 

I took some photos so you can see what I mean.

 

She does not appear in any pain, but she is seperated from the others. I will decide what I am going to do in a short amount of time. There is nothing a vet can do, apart from surgery, and that is not happening.

Edited December 19, 200915 yr by Dave_McMinn

Like Liv I have encountered this problem in the nest twice and I believe it was as a result of the way the hen sat on the chick.

 

I don't see a problem in letting her carry on as she is after a rest. Granted I don't know whether she'll ever breed for you but maybe she could be a foster mum? or have a nice retirement as a pet?

I never bred her. She is not part of the breeding program. She was at my sister's place.

 

I know this could happen in the nestbox, but this seems to have happened in an aviary in the last week.

 

The bird was not like this it's whole life. As I said, this is a recent development.

 

Sunshine is an orange ring, so that makes her what, 4?

i never bred her. She is not part of the breeding program. She was at my sister's place.

 

I know this could happen in the nestbox, but this seems to have happened in an aviary in the last week.

 

The bird was not like this it's whole life. As i said, this is a recent development.

 

Sunshine is an orange ring, so that makes her what, 4?

gold ringers are 06 birds.

so she is not that old

 

I have to go to the vets tomorrow anyway, so i might take her along for a ride

I took sunshine and another bird to the vet today. My vet looked at her and agreed that it was more of a fracture of her upper hip. There is not much we could do to ease her pain (as we know birds hide it well) nor repair the hip, so it was decided to euthanase her.

 

She has gone to a better place.