Chicken butt problems - cant find any info online!!!!

Tonight when I let my girls out for their arvo free range time in the yard I noticed one was dirty around the bum so I got a tub of warm soapy water to wash her and when I picked her up and had a closer look I realized there was a much worse problem.

Her bum hole is fine and she has been pooping but it almost looks like she has been straining to push out an egg and has ripped her bum open somehow? It is quite leathery and around the edge on one side there was a maggot infestation. I cut back the feathers, soaked her in warm salty water then used tweezers to pick out all the maggots. The area was hot and appeared to be full of liquid so I put a pin in and clear fluid started coming out. I made a small incision and we let out about 1 1/2 cups of liquid. I could not find an egg that may have caused the initial obstruction and the fluid was mostly clear except for a small pea sized thing that looked and felt the consistency of a cooked egg yolk.

We emptied almost all the fluid out and rewashed her, then used swabs to put hydrogen peroxide on the infected area. We have looked online at a lot of sites about what it could possibly be but have no clear definition on what it could be. She is separate from the other hens in her own small cage with food and water and a warm bed for tonight and we will keep her separated until she is better enough in our eyes to return.

I am really just writing, wondering if you anyone has come across anything like this before? She has not been lethargic and as soon as I put food down after draining the sac she began eating. I just want to repeat that the large round mass you see is very leathery and not sensitive to her at all. The fluid has a strong odour but not of infection, it smelt like my chicken coop usually does when it needs a clean out, I suppose urine. We did this ourselves and are looking for the answer online because we cannot afford a vet right now.

*Update - She has made it through the night and seems a little lethargic this morning.

I think that she could be an internal layer who may have a large blockage of egg mass that has caused her vent to bulge out, similar to a prolapse. The dark skin looks necrotic and possibly dead. It actually could have been a prolapse, but there have been a couple of cases here lately with internal layers having a similar blockage. I am not an expert on this or internal laying, but just offering my opinion. I hope others will chime in. With the infection and the maggot infestation, I think you are going to have your hands full treating her. How old is she? To clean her up I would give her a warm epsom salt bath every day, but You will need to get out all of the maggots or they will kill her. She also could use some antibiotics. Procaine Penicillin G injection is available at most feed stores (in a refrigerator.) A vet could give her much better ones. Any dead or black tissue should be removed or debrided, and an antibiotic ointment should be applied. Plain Neosporin or Triple antibiotic ointment is fine. I would take a rubber glove, and feel inside the vent for an egg mass that is stuck. This probably won't be a normal egg though. If she starts to act very weak or ill, or stops eating and drinking, I wouldn't hesitate to put her down, but that should be up to you, especially if she is a special pet. Peroxide can be used once initially, but it can prevent healing of tissue. Betadine or Hibiclens is much better for cleaning the skin.

This link shows what the egg masses can look like in internal laying--sometimes they come out, and sometimes they can block the vent: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/106294/rosemarys-necropsy-photos-warning-graphic

Could it be a fly strike healing over?

Look she isnt a family pet really, just here for the gardens and the eggs. I couldn't kill her myself though, I don't have it in me. I'd rather try everything possible before I take her to the vet to get put down.. I felt around the area and it was mostly just clear fluid which we let out. I couldn't feel any hard masses when I was draining the area. I have seen my chickens pass things exactly the same as in that link, probably about the size of my thumb. She is still pooing and they look quite healthy. It honestly looks like she has pooed got it stuck in her bum feathers and it has become fly blown, the area has become hard with dead tissue as you said and because of the maggots her body has started secreting lymph to the area. Could this be a possibility? Also we are in Australia, do you know how much it would cost to put her down at a vet? Please dont think I am silly I just cannot snap her neck or bear the thought of someone else doing it either.

I have just made a small incision through the dead tissue and used a syringe to suck out what I can. It was yellow like urine with a few floaty bits. Her bum is SIGNIFICANTLY smaller today then it was yesterday. I uploaded a pic so you can see the difference. I emptied as much out as possible with the syringe and then flushed it with saline solution three times. No maggots after removing as much as possible with the tweezers yesterday The maggots were not living in the central part of the dead skin area but to one side. I also flushed the black area with saline and into the area that was affected with maggots.

That looks like ascites fluid. Ascites can be from internal laying from liver failure and also from heart failure. Speckled Hen and Casportpony, and others have dealt with this before. There are several Aussies on BYC this time of the day.

It certainly seems like you can get the fluid but it doesn't help the cause of it being there. It the most simple terms I can use for this situation ****. Now what do I do, wait to see how she goes or take her to the vet to put her to sleep.

I wish I could help more. Since I haven't dealt with this before, I feel fairly useless on what else to suggest. It just seems like such a complicated case. There is just not much that can be done with internal laying and ascites anyway, in addition to draining and giving antibiotics, but with her other problems with the vent and the maggots...well. You can keep trying to help her as long as she is alert and eating, and fairly comfortable but I would probably make a plan for what happens down the road. Do you have a family friend who could put her down when the time comes? here is another thread to read : https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/362422/drained-a-hens-abdomen-rest-in-peace-olivia-11-5-10