Wound full of maggots

wkshaddon

Songster
Aug 15, 2019
108
80
116
Lane County Oregon
So I noticed my aunt's Brahma chicken was walking really slowly and kind of tucking her butt down a little bit so I picked her up and looked at her butt area and there's a lot of poop and her flesh looked a little dead I guess. Well when my aunt got home I went to show her and got to look in a little closer and there was a hole further down from her butt that was packed with maggots! We gave her a warm bath and cleaned and as many maggots as we could get out of that hole which goes pretty far up under her skin in a big circle. I know we didn't get them all but there was hundreds of them. I think we got 98% of them out can I just pack that area with Neosporin original or terramycin?
 
How’s she doing? When dealing with this I soak them in epsom salt warm water and use tweezers to get out all the maggots you can. Spray the wound with clorahexadine or veterycin, than pack with neosporin. I ALWAYS give antibiotics when this happens. As it can cause nasty and fatal infections. So if you have any available I would start them right away.
 
How’s she doing? When dealing with this I soak them in epsom salt warm water and use tweezers to get out all the maggots you can. Spray the wound with clorahexadine or veterycin, than pack with neosporin. I ALWAYS give antibiotics when this happens. As it can cause nasty and fatal infections. So if you have any available I would start them right away.
I unfortunately do not have any antibiotics. But I did soak her last night and packed it with neosporin. This morning I've been working on picking the remaining maggots out with tweezers. She did drink some water but won't eat. They are so far up underneath her skin I wonder if it may be better to put her down. It really sucks because if my aunt would have let me bathe her while back when I asked to this could've been prevented. But my uncle is a jerk and wouldn't let me use the sink in the laundry room to bathe her in and it was too cold to do it outside. Here's pictures after her bath. This is below her vent.
 

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One key thing to getting rid of maggots is repeating soaks every couple of hours to get the ones newly hatched or coming to the surface. Then continue with the Neosporin. As you eliminate what's eating her alive, she should start feeling better. Maybe you can get her to eat some scrambled eggs.
 
I would repeat the soak either in warm Epsom salts, dawn, or dissolve salt 1 tsp per each gallon of water. Apply the Neosporin afterward. A plastic dish pan, 5 gallon bucket, or bathtub make a good vessel for soaking a hen. Repeat the warm soak to promote healing once a day. It is a good idea to check vents in warm weather for any soiling or wounds, as well as a prolapse, since fly strike is very deadly. Good luck with your hen. I hope she survives.
 
I unfortunately do not have any antibiotics. But I did soak her last night and packed it with neosporin. This morning I've been working on picking the remaining maggots out with tweezers. She did drink some water but won't eat. They are so far up underneath her skin I wonder if it may be better to put her down. It really sucks because if my aunt would have let me bathe her while back when I asked to this could've been prevented. But my uncle is a jerk and wouldn't let me use the sink in the laundry room to bathe her in and it was too cold to do it outside. Here's pictures after her bath. This is below her vent.
This is not a super severe wound when it comes to fly strike. They can eat all the way into the abdominal cavity. She doesn’t need to be put down. Just repeatedly cleaned soaked and have ointment on her.

You can order antibiotics online very easy. From pigeon and falconry sites. Even have them overnighted.
 
I unfortunately do not have any antibiotics. But I did soak her last night and packed it with neosporin. This morning I've been working on picking the remaining maggots out with tweezers. She did drink some water but won't eat. They are so far up underneath her skin I wonder if it may be better to put her down. It really sucks because if my aunt would have let me bathe her while back when I asked to this could've been prevented. But my uncle is a jerk and wouldn't let me use the sink in the laundry room to bathe her in and it was too cold to do it outside. Here's pictures after her bath. This is below her vent.

One key thing to getting rid of maggots is repeating soaks every couple of hours to get the ones newly hatched or coming to the surface. Then continue with the Neosporin. As you eliminate what's eating her alive, she should start feeling better.

One key thing to getting rid of maggots is repeating soaks every couple of hours to get the ones newly hatched or coming to the surface. Then continue with the Neosporin. As you eliminate what's eating her alive, she should start feeling better. Maybe you can get her to eat some scrambled eggs.
I wish I had the luxury of doing it every couple hours but unfortunately I do not. O my uncle is the kind of guy that believes once they stop laying eggs they are worthless. I told him that for as many years as she's given him eggs everyday that she should have at least by shown some compassion and respect. But he doesn't even show meú respect and I do a good majority of the tasks around the ranch since he's on oxygen now. so I avoid going in the house. My aunt and I both work so I don't have access to the warm water until she gets home but I have given her a couple of soaks and got her to eat some corn kernels tonight as well as drink some Gatorade and water. I have not seen any maggots since the second soak which I implemented the Epsom salt for about 20 minutes or more. she really seem to enjoy as much as one can enjoy in this situation. been packing her wound with Neosporin as suggested and I will look into ordering the antibiotics in the morning. Thank you all for your suggestions advice and help it is much appreciated I'll keep you updated
 
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I wish I had the luxury of doing it every couple hours but unfortunately I do not. O my uncle is the kind of guy that believes once they stop laying eggs they are worthless. I told him that for as many years as she's given him eggs everyday that she should have at least by shown some compassion and respect. But he doesn't even show meú respect and I do a good majority of the tasks around the ranch since he's on oxygen now. so I avoid going in the house. My aunt and I both work so I don't have access to the warm water until she gets home but I have given her a couple of soaks and got her to eat some corn kernels tonight as well as drink some Gatorade and water. I have not seen any maggots since the second soak which I implemented the Epsom salt for about 20 minutes or more. she really seem to enjoy as much as one can enjoy in this situation. been packing her wound with Neosporin as suggested and I will look into ordering the antibiotics in the morning. Thank you all for your suggestions advice and help it is much appreciated I'll keep you updated
I'm sorry for your situation. You're doing the best you can and are saving that hen's life as she would surely have died had you not intervened.

She needs to eat to keep her strength up to fight infection though. Do you have any poultry vitamins you can put in her water? Also, try making a mash from their feed by adding water, like oatmeal consistency. Usually, chickens go nuts for that.
 
I'm sorry for your situation. You're doing the best you can and are saving that hen's life as she would surely have died had you not intervened.

She needs to eat to keep her strength up to fight infection though. Do you have any poultry vitamins you can put in her water? Also, try making a mash from their feed by adding water, like oatmeal consistency. Usually, chickens go nuts for that.
She is doing much better this morning. I wasn't able to get her to eat anything yesterday except for a little bit of wet dog food and today she's perked up and wanting to walk around but she doesn't get that luxury yet. I don't want a reinfestation, so I put her in my hammock with a mosquito net top, zipped her up in it and it's working great. (Don't worry the hammock is not suspended above the ground). Been packing the wound with Neosporin twice a day, and soaking her once a day. And yes we do have vitamins I'm putting in her water. And she's getting lots and lots of affection. Thank you and everybody else for all the advice and care and concern for her I appreciate all of you very very much
 
This is not a super severe wound when it comes to fly strike. They can eat all the way into the abdominal cavity. She doesn’t need to be put down. Just repeatedly cleaned soaked and have ointment on her.

You can order antibiotics online very easy. From pigeon and falconry sites. Even have them overnighted.
She is doing much better today getting her to eat a little bit of wet dog food, and she's perked up and wanting to walk around today. But until her wound heals a little more she's been staying in my hammock with a mosquito net top to keep the flies out. Been packing her wound with Neosporin twice a day and soaking her once a day ever does see any maggots since day before yesterday. Thank you very much for your advice and help and care and concern I appreciate you very much
 

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