Worms

I have a buff Orpington that has a serious worm infestation. Until yesterday she looked great, was a bit more to herself but otherwise normal. I noticed a mess around her vent. When I picked her up to clean it up a bit there were actual wiggly worms dangling out of her. Last night she stayed in a nesting box but was on a roost that s morning. She wouldn't come out and her vent area was all wet and brown.
I will go out and isolate her but I don't know what to do next. She's 3 years old. Any help would be appreciated.
Also what steps should I take to disinfect the coop and run. Overwhelmed.

I've read many posts. Just want to make sure it's current info. Also do I treat all of the flock.

If one has them, then most likely they all do.
Identifying what type of worm it is can be helpful in determining which wormer to use, hopefully the link I have provided will help to identify what you see, if not you can take a sample to your vet to have a fecal float performed to confirm identification.


These two seem to be the most effective for most types of worms, but again, I.D. would be best - Valbazen 1/2 ml orally and then repeated in 10 days for each chicken or Fenbendazole (Safeguard, Panacur) at 1/4 ml per pound for 5 days in a row.
Suggested egg withdrawal is 14days after last treatment. (Throw away eggs for 24days for Valbazen and 19days for Fenbendazole).

After worming provide some poultry vitamins and some probiotics/plain yogurt for a few days.


Identifying and treatment options:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2015/11/control-treatment-of-worms-in-chickens.html

Thank you for all the info. I gave all of the girls safeguard yesterday. The buff with the visible worms was hiding out. I isolated her this morning.
There are loads of wriggle worms around her vent and smelly watery stool. They are very active wriggling white worms that seem to be coming from her vent. Is there something I should do to kill them on the outside of her? Should I attempt to wash them off. I have to tell you I'm not the bravest in this situation.

geepers6 said:

Thank you for all the info. I gave all of the girls safeguard yesterday. The buff with the visible worms was hiding out. I isolated her this morning.
There are loads of wriggle worms around her vent and smelly watery stool. They are very active wriggling white worms that seem to be coming from her vent. Is there something I should do to kill them on the outside of her? Should I attempt to wash them off. I have to tell you I'm not the bravest in this situation.

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Yes, you may want to clean her up.
Give her a good soak in a warm epsom salt solution. If her bum is poopy wash her with a little soapy water first (a drop or two of dish soap is fine). Then give her a soak in some epsom salt water.
Check her vent and surrounding tissue for any signs of wounds to make sure the worms your are seeing is actually internal parasites (cecal worms, round worms, etc.) and not maggots in a wound. Wash/flush the area really good. If you have her inside with the A/C going, dry her off well or you can use a hair dryer on low/cool to help dry the feathers a bit, you don't want her chilled.

I know it sounds disgusting and it can be. I haven't encountered worms yet, but dirty bum(s) I have. It just takes a little time, wear gloves and start working the soapy water into the vent feathers (a lot of it is fluff so it's not too bad). Once you get going, you will do just fine. Talk to your "patient" - she may talk back and you can have a conversation I've found that slow movement(s) and a calm soothing voice really helps. Have everything you think you may need ready. Extra water, towels, a wound ointment/spray if you encounter any wounds, gloves, etc. A helper is great if you have one, but you can do it just fine by yourself.

I've done more web searching and I'm pretty sure I'm dealing with maggots. Fly strike. I'm amazed at how few of my books address this. The poor girl has been suffering for days from the inside out it can happen even without a wound. She looked so good. Beautiful buff. I'm going to try bathing her with the Epsom salt as you suggest. I never realized something like this could happen. Fortunately it's not threatening to the other girls. This will not be a pretty process but worth a try. If I can clear them out she will be ok. Hope it's not too late.

It crossed my mind when you mentioned they were all around her vent. Flystrike can happen fairly quickly especially in hot weather. So don't beat yourself up. You can do this

You can soak her in Epsom salts, salt water, betadine, or soap and water in a warm bath, Look for the maggots and get out any pus, you may need to use tweezers to get most of the maggots out. Repeat the bath again a couple of times a day until all maggots are gone, then dry it and apply plain antibiotic ointment (bacitracin, neosporin, etc.) Make sure that she is eating well with plenty of protein (scrambled/boiled egg, tuna, mackerel, meat) and drinking plenty of fluids.


Here's a helpful link:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/07/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes.html


Keep us posted on how she is doing.

I think it's too late. Maggots flowed out of her but she's barely with us. When I washed her off to manually remove some of them there is a puffy discoloration below her vent that is tender. She's resting now. Breathing slowly and barely opening her eyes. She doesn't seem to be in pain just super weak. I'll call our vet in the morning if she's still with us.
This did happen very fast. I so appreciate your help. I'm glad it's not contagious and I will be checking the others more carefully in the future. I'll let you know if there's a miracle. Thanks again.

geepers6 said:

I think it's too late. Maggots flowed out of her but she's barely with us. When I washed her off to manually remove some of them there is a puffy discoloration below her vent that is tender. She's resting now. Breathing slowly and barely opening her eyes. She doesn't seem to be in pain just super weak. I'll call our vet in the morning if she's still with us.
This did happen very fast. I so appreciate your help. I'm glad it's not contagious and I will be checking the others more carefully in the future. I'll let you know if there's a miracle. Thanks again.

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I'm sorry.
You are doing the best you can. Try to get her to drink, dehydration can make her weaker. If she won't drink you can try dropping the fluids beside her beak. She probably won't take the first couple of drops, but I've found once the beak is moistened they will usually take in a bit. It's slow going and let her take her time. If you have poultry vitamins or electrolytes that would be good.

Please keep us updated.

my granddaughter hand fed her some watery mash. This morning she was standing. I brought her to the vet. He said the Epsom salt baths had taken care of the maggots but she has a sizable lesion. It wasn't her messy vent that drew the maggots it was the lesion. She's on an antibiotic and eating mash mixed with pedialite. I'm continuing the baths. He's not sure if it will work but I actually think she's perking up. Fingers crossed.
The baths were the key, and my granddaughters refusal to give up. Thank you again and I will update when we know how she makes out.