hen wounded, can't get rid of the maggots

We're new chicken owners with 5 hens. We have a 4 month old hen (not sure what kind, smooth black, no special markings) named Sammi. Monday afternoon (8/1) we thought she was gone, found some feathers but no chicken. Yesterday afternoon (8/2) she was back but is injured - tail and under right wing wounded, she was crawling with flies and maggots. We think it may have been a neighborhood dog.

We brought her inside, washed her with antibacterial hand soap, poured on peroxide, rinsed, picked as many maggots off as possible, and squirted her with antiseptic rinse (a more experienced chicken-handling friend helped). We picked more maggots off a little later, and that evening, rinsed and did the peroxide and antiseptic rinse again. We're keeping her inside in a pet carrier cage line with paper towel.

This morning we picked up some iodine and blukote. Washed Sammi with antibacterial hand soap again, tried to pick maggots, rinsed with diluted iodine, blotted dry and sprayed with Blukote. She flinched, struggled, and squawked today as we treated her, so she seemed to be in pain. Yesterday, she was pretty mellow while being treated. We just can't seem to get the maggots out of her injuries.

Does anyone know what to do about the maggots? Should we euthanize her? A vet visit is not an option, but we are willing to try to help her ourselves, we just don't want to prolong her suffering if death by maggot is inevitable. Thanks for helping!

To be honest depends how deep they are. If shes fighting you thats a good sign, she still has fight left in her. It might be a good idea to post a pic... as gruesome as it may be. This happened to one of mine and i was told to soak the bird till the maggots drowned. I couldnt save my hen though, they were inside her system. A tub of warm water mixed with antibiotics would be my guess. hold her in as long as she will let you.

I would recommend neem oil. This is a natural insecticide that is from the sap of a tree. Most good garden supply centers will carry this.

I would dilute it 1 parts neem to 10 parts water. It is also antiseptic and antibacterial, so it will help cleanse the wounds. It will not sting like iodine does. If these are house fly maggots, they are actually beneficial at cleaning wounds, removing dead flesh, etc., but they could just as easily be larvae from botflies or syrphid flies which attack living flesh.

Look up cell migration in above link. Put her in a clean cage all by herself where flies cannot get to her. Wash her wounds. If you use hydrogen peroxide you must dilute it quite a bit as it can damage her tissues. This is probably why it hurts her. ) In a mildly dark quiet and cool place)Well rinse with a saline solution that you buy at the drug store and then cover all the wound area with triple antibiotic ointment. Then you must put a gauze pad on her wounds and tape it on. (I used duct tape for this part) Continue to clean her wound daily and add ointment and bandage until maggots are gone and then every third day should be adequate. It takes a while, but she will recover. This is what I did with a hen that a rooster tore a 2 inch hle in her side. I thought I should kill her too, but she is fine now and I am glad I saved her. Just read the article and do what the article says. You will have complete feather and skin renewal when process is done. I also gave her a .5 cc shot of PenVK for 5 days. This can be found at the farm stores for a minimul cost. Buy a syringe there too. Give her the shot in her breast muscle. Find her keel and then go 1/2 -1 inch either side, put the needle in the muscle and then pull it out a tad. Extract the plunger a bit and if there is blood, try again. If there is no blood, give her the shot. This is .5 cc for standard 5 pound hen. Good Luck

Oh and feed her some high protein treats daily to help the healing along with her regular fair. Try hard boiled eggs and/or sunflower seeds. You may want to feed her more often as she might not feel like eating as much as usual.


ETA< I think the antibiotic ointment may suffocate the maggots. Just slather her with it.

@Flockmistress, thanks for the advice, We've got her in our house to protect her from more flies. And we aren't using the peroxide anymore, just yesterday when we initially cleaned her. We have sprayed her with the blukote which is fairly messy wound treatment (stains things VERY blue) I wonder if this would be similar an ointment treatment. re: the bandage, won't the duct tape stick to her feathers pretty badly? (sorry, still just learning how to physically hold our chicken) I'm looking at the link.

Oh, sorry, I see the part about the ointment maybe suffocating the maggots. and we have been feeding her yogurt, rice, and applesauce every so often.

wow that is very good advise! I will have to save that for myself for the future . the hen i had there was no way of saving her, they had traveled from a gash on her rear to her chest. it was very grim and the hen was having periods of falling unconscious. I check my birds regularly now since that happened in 24 hours

I don't think you should use tape over the feathers. But if you do decide to keep the wound covered, there is a great alternative called "Vet Wrap". This is what it looks like: http://www.amazon.com/Gifted-Horse-Vet-Wrap/dp/B0002V47L0 I keep several rolls on hand for my horses. It's not sticky- but it does stick to itself. Don't know what to do about the maggots. I'm sorry. Maybe someone knows a really good way to get the maggots out.

BTW- you can buy the Vet Wrap at any farm store! Tractor Supply, Atwoods, etc...