Dislocated Hip

[snafu918]

My bird dislocated her hip on her right leg today. Anyone else ever come across this injury?

I believe she did it while tied off on her perch while I was at work, obviously it may have been the result of being tied off on too long of a lead, but I'm not sure.

[HawkingRage]

that and bunji cords can be bad. i know of someone that thier bird broke its leg bating from the bow perch with a bunji. when i tie down my bird the ring on the perch is susspended from the base of the perch. this gives the bird about 2 feet away from the perch if bating keeping the tail and legs safe. coarse it could happen to anyone. did you take the bird to a vet yet and what did they say?

[snafu918]

I really only have one good raptor vet in AZ and he's more than 200 miles away. After I got the x-rays I called him and he said to give it 48 hours and see if she naturally corrects it.

[HawkingRage]

but if it doesnt it could be impossible to get it back in. with dogs and cats i know that dislocated hips that dont get put back in soon end up having to have the femoral ball removed. that could really jack up a hunting bird. coarse i dont know for sure, birds may be totally different.

[snafu918]

I hear ya, but he did say that birds are totally different and I have to go by what this vet say's as he is the only decent raptor vet in AZ. Of course if someone out there has a vet's number that I can call and get a second opinion I will gladly do that.

[Tiercel78]

I had a buddy that had his Male RT get his leg Hyper extended after it got kicked real hard by a jack. He said that the bird would not even move the leg at all. It just hung there like a lifeless piece of meat. the bird regained full movement of the leg after a few days and after a month down time and some homeopathic (Ledum) drugs was back to slamming Jacks.

Rage on the bungee thing it all depends on how the set up is. I have seen people get their birds legs broke using traditional equipment that is set up wrong as well. When my bird is out on the bow I have a Bungee that is on the ring that I hook on along with my leash. When the leash is tied I make sure it is only about a inch or two longer that the bungee. This softens the impact of the bate when he hits the end of the leash. It's not enough to jerk him back or long enough for him to really build up tension on the bungee. I would not recommend using a long bungee. Like I said I only use mine in conjunction with a regular leash and I have never had a problem. I learned it from a master falconer that has been using surgical tubing set up the same way for years with no problems. I think that long leashes and thin anklets are the major cause of broken tarsus. Broken stuff is caused buy a build up of stress on a small portion of the leg in most cases.

[snafu918]

That's really heartening, thanks for the info I'll pass it along to the vet.

[crbhawking]

I don't know but maybe a slightly weighted leash, so it takes more to get as far, or would this be worse ( I talking about a little wieght)

[Falcon Boy]

Any chance you can post a picture of the xray?

[HawkingRage]

I agree with you T78, thats why i use 6 inch mews jesses and double graumet anklets.

[snafu918]

Well the verdict is in and it's not a dislocated hip. Sorry it took so long but I've been busy with vet stuff for this bird. She's broken her tibiotarsus about a1/3 of the distance down the leg. The vet out here has pinned with an intermedualry pin and 2 extramedualry pins.

Now $2200 dollars later I'm wishing that I had gotten VPI on this bird. Either way though we'll get her fixed up in a couple of weeks. I'll try and keep everyone up-to-date on her status as we go along.