hip dysplasia

Question
I found my 2 year old doe unable to walk on one rear leg and her hip was jutting out strangely.  She was still able to bear weight on the other hind leg. By morning she was unable to walk at all and both hips were strangely deformed. I took her to the vet as soon as they opened and they did two x rays. She was diagnosed with hip dysplasia.  He tried to put them back in place twice but they popped right back out and the vet said she was in pain and there was nothing else he could do.  Is this common?  Are there any other treatments that could have saved her?  Would it have made a difference if she was braced as a baby when we first noticed her splay legs? She never had a problem until now.

Answer
Dear Gail,

It's pretty unusual for this to happen suddenly to a 2 year old rabbit.  Is it possible she suffered a traumatic injury, such as being dropped or falling off something tall?  

I'm not sure I'd write this off just yet.  Please find a rabbit-savvy vet here:

http://www.rabbit.org/vets

for a second opinion.

It might be possible for you to brace her legs if she really does have hip dysplasia.  Please see:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/splayleg.html

Though some rabbits don't tolerate leg braces as well as others.  We have a splayleg bunny who scoots around almost as fast as a normal bunny, so this condition is not necessarily a death sentence.  It all depends on the individual bunny and her level of disability.

I hope this helps.

Dana