Flystrike – I’d kept chickens for two years and had never heard the term. Then one warm September day in the Pacific Northwest, I was in the coop and noticed my normally spicy Silkie roo, Mugsy, was kind of dragging a wing and it looked especially dirty. I carefully lifted the wing up and saw maggots - lots of them. And it wasn’t dirt under his wing, it was rotting flesh juice. Holy smokes. I immediately ran to the house and got my partner, shouting random words through my tears. He got the gist and quickly followed.
Now for context, we are both First Responders with our local volunteer fire department and have seen some pretty rough stuff, however, we were both surprised at how bad this was. Upon initial evaluation, his entire vent area was a solid wall of maggots; a festering, smelly, crawling mass. Not only that, we could see tiny maggots scurrying under his skin. I rapidly searched online what this enigma could be and discovered FLYSTRIKE. Here’s how we treated him:
It is important to thoroughly dry the bird that is affected as warm, damp feathers and skin will encourage infection and infestation. After pulling out maggots for about an hour, we got a blow dryer and proceeded to dry his entire body. The smell of hot rotting flesh will not be forgotten quickly.
I guess it’s worth noting at this stage that at a certain point, it’s worth evaluating if the bird is salvageable. None of us want to torture an animal; we love our girls and roos; however, it is important to recognize if we are actually helping them, or just prolonging their pain. This is a decision that every chicken owner must make for themselves. For us, Mugsy is a cherished member of our flock. He is a Silkie rooster among 12 mixed standard hens including Brahmas, Wyandottes, Olive Eggers, and more. He is a true gentleman and the girls have extreme respect for him, even though he is a quarter their size. We decided to try to save him as we felt he had the vitality and will to keep going, as did we.
It took two hours to blow dry him completely, and at this time, we discovered the maggots had eaten up his back, and around his neck. Even though he was completely dry now, we could still see thin, strand-like baby maggots wriggling under his skin and the odd maggot still visible burrowed on the surface, however, we wanted to warm him up and also give him a break.
The reason chickens die from flystrike is due to tissue destruction and the resulting infection, or the maggots infiltrate the organs. I am quite sure Mugsy was nearing the latter, as the maggots were visible under the skin. If you have access to Vetericyn, now is the time to spray the affected area as it will reduce the chance of infection (which is great, given the tissue damage). As we live in a remote area, I didn’t have access to this medicine yet, so I sprayed a mild solution of manuka honey and water onto the wound. *This is not recommended if you don’t have an area where flies can’t access as they will be drawn to the sweetness of the honey.
The good news is his body totally recovered from the ordeal; however, his vent area is completely deformed due to the area the maggots ate, so poop regularly gets stuck in his feathers, making him more susceptible to another flystrike. To limit this, every few weeks I use my medical scissors to cut away poop that has gathered in his feathers, as well as cut the feathers away from the vent.
The Takeaway: Flystrike is insanely horrendous – both for you and your birds. I keep a super clean coop: huge dust bathing areas with added wood ash and diatomaceous earth, freshly grated garlic once a week in fermented food, apple cider vinegar in their water, neem and lavender oil spray in all nest boxes, and inside the coop, and I clean all the poop inside the coop and in the run daily. I also trim or wash all my girls' (and roo’s) vent feathers if they have any mess right away. And I STILL got flystrike (and mites, but that’s another story…).
Just know that if you keep a clean coop and vents, you can still get flystrike. Take the time each day to visually assess your flock – is one of your girls moving slower than usual? A little puffed up? Bubbly or droopy eyes? Tail feathers down? Not running over when you bring the snacks? It’s worth taking the time because you could catch something before it causes a ton of work or death to your favorite bird.
Some similar posts about flystrike can be found at:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/maggots-in-chicken-wounds.1551933/#post-26238727
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-cure-flystrike.1538214/
Electrolyte Recipe:
I didn't think to take any pictures of the incident while it was happening as it was pretty gruesome... But here is a pic of him healthy and happy post-flystrike. I considered taking a photo of his deformed vent, but also decided against that as I wasn't sure people would be interested in a pic of that!
Now for context, we are both First Responders with our local volunteer fire department and have seen some pretty rough stuff, however, we were both surprised at how bad this was. Upon initial evaluation, his entire vent area was a solid wall of maggots; a festering, smelly, crawling mass. Not only that, we could see tiny maggots scurrying under his skin. I rapidly searched online what this enigma could be and discovered FLYSTRIKE. Here’s how we treated him:
- We filled a dishpan with warm, soapy water and got a pair of tweezers and medical scissors (they have safety tips and cut through anything – highly recommended for the chicken emergency kit!).
- We dunked Mugsy in the bath and worked our fingers gently around his vent area to loosen the maggots.
- After pulling him out (he is now thoroughly soaked through) we cut the feathers around the affected area and started meticulously pulling the maggots with tweezers out of his vent area that had burrowed into his flesh.
It is important to thoroughly dry the bird that is affected as warm, damp feathers and skin will encourage infection and infestation. After pulling out maggots for about an hour, we got a blow dryer and proceeded to dry his entire body. The smell of hot rotting flesh will not be forgotten quickly.
I guess it’s worth noting at this stage that at a certain point, it’s worth evaluating if the bird is salvageable. None of us want to torture an animal; we love our girls and roos; however, it is important to recognize if we are actually helping them, or just prolonging their pain. This is a decision that every chicken owner must make for themselves. For us, Mugsy is a cherished member of our flock. He is a Silkie rooster among 12 mixed standard hens including Brahmas, Wyandottes, Olive Eggers, and more. He is a true gentleman and the girls have extreme respect for him, even though he is a quarter their size. We decided to try to save him as we felt he had the vitality and will to keep going, as did we.
It took two hours to blow dry him completely, and at this time, we discovered the maggots had eaten up his back, and around his neck. Even though he was completely dry now, we could still see thin, strand-like baby maggots wriggling under his skin and the odd maggot still visible burrowed on the surface, however, we wanted to warm him up and also give him a break.
The reason chickens die from flystrike is due to tissue destruction and the resulting infection, or the maggots infiltrate the organs. I am quite sure Mugsy was nearing the latter, as the maggots were visible under the skin. If you have access to Vetericyn, now is the time to spray the affected area as it will reduce the chance of infection (which is great, given the tissue damage). As we live in a remote area, I didn’t have access to this medicine yet, so I sprayed a mild solution of manuka honey and water onto the wound. *This is not recommended if you don’t have an area where flies can’t access as they will be drawn to the sweetness of the honey.
- After drying him, we brought our XL dog crate into the coop and covered it with fine mosquito netting. The netting was to prevent flies from having access to him, as he was a prime target for ANOTHER flystrike given his odor of putrid flesh. We didn’t bring him into a building as it was still around 16-20° outside and leaving him in the coop would stress him less than transporting him into our house or shop. If it had been colder, I would have brought him inside. We also gave him an electrolyte solution we had prepared (see the recipe at the end of the article) to hydrate him.
- The next morning, we did the entire process over again: soaked him in the soapy dish tub, worked our fingers through his feathers to debride the dead flesh and rid him of any loose maggots, and then use the tweezers to pick out any visible maggots. We found some giant maggots in and around his vent, so it is really important to cut all the feathers away from the affected area so you have a good visual of the skin.
- We then did another blow-dry until he was 100% fluffy and dry. This drying process is integral as it creates an environment the maggots will not thrive!
The good news is his body totally recovered from the ordeal; however, his vent area is completely deformed due to the area the maggots ate, so poop regularly gets stuck in his feathers, making him more susceptible to another flystrike. To limit this, every few weeks I use my medical scissors to cut away poop that has gathered in his feathers, as well as cut the feathers away from the vent.
The Takeaway: Flystrike is insanely horrendous – both for you and your birds. I keep a super clean coop: huge dust bathing areas with added wood ash and diatomaceous earth, freshly grated garlic once a week in fermented food, apple cider vinegar in their water, neem and lavender oil spray in all nest boxes, and inside the coop, and I clean all the poop inside the coop and in the run daily. I also trim or wash all my girls' (and roo’s) vent feathers if they have any mess right away. And I STILL got flystrike (and mites, but that’s another story…).
Just know that if you keep a clean coop and vents, you can still get flystrike. Take the time each day to visually assess your flock – is one of your girls moving slower than usual? A little puffed up? Bubbly or droopy eyes? Tail feathers down? Not running over when you bring the snacks? It’s worth taking the time because you could catch something before it causes a ton of work or death to your favorite bird.
Some similar posts about flystrike can be found at:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/maggots-in-chicken-wounds.1551933/#post-26238727
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/how-to-cure-flystrike.1538214/
Electrolyte Recipe:
- 2 c. Warm Water
- 2 tbsp. Honey or Molasses
- 1/2 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
I didn't think to take any pictures of the incident while it was happening as it was pretty gruesome... But here is a pic of him healthy and happy post-flystrike. I considered taking a photo of his deformed vent, but also decided against that as I wasn't sure people would be interested in a pic of that!
