Buff Orpington maggots and infection

[idahormp]

Hi I have one hen that is experiencing some discomfort, here's my story. About a week ago my husband noticed something hanging from the chickens bum, he being grossed out easily didn't think much of it or do anything so I started doing a bunch of research and found that she most likely had a prolapse. So we separated her from the others into a dark brooder. I didn't have time to look at her due to 2 jobs, so 2 nights ago Monday I finally took her into the bath and started to wash her underside with warm water although I still couldn't see anything just feel something extremely hard, she then started to peck at her backside and these white bugs fell out of her, I was so grossed out that I couldn't continue so I put her back in the brooder. Yesterday Tuesday I decided I couldn't give up on this chicken as she acted fine, so when I got home I couldn't believe what I saw, she had laid 2 eggs, one was still stuck to her bum I assume this was the hardness I felt the night before. I filled a large container with warm water and some peroxide and let he soak for a good 20 minutes, she wasn't thrilled but was a good girl. I then took her out to the yard and laid her on her back covering her head with a shirt, what I saw was a very infected prolapse and a ton of maggots inside of her chest cavity. I cleaned every maggot I could find and see out of her and rinsed her with warm water. Her prolapse was much smaller but looked infected it was black brownish, there was an open wound with white puss like stuff coming out so I cleaned that best I could and put honey on it, I then pushed it back in no problem. I then cleaned the brooder and gave her fresh bedding, water and food and a heat lamp for being wet in the garage. This morning she seemed uncomfortable just laying in the corner it also froze last night so maybe she was cold as well, yesterday before I did all this she was just fine as far as being alert and eating and drinking. I assume she has a bunch of cedar stuck to her bum. Tonight I was going to wash her off and pour some peroxide in the chest area then rinse with a warm water salt solution. Does this sound like she will be okay, I know we waited too long but am hoping for a good outcome. I was also going to get some swat from the tack store. Is her chest cavity supposed to be exposed like that, the skin is purple? I also feel like maybe I shouldn't have put an infected prolapse back in her, but I hope that either her body will heal it or push it back out. Any suggestions would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Yes, you need to put the prolapse back in. Honey or Preparation H will assist in getting the prolapse back in. I would separate her until she heals to keep the maggots out.

 

[lilhippiemomma]

I had something very similar happen to me. Maggots are absolutely horrible. I agree that you should separate her until she's healed. I'd put her somewhere that you can put newspapers down instead of cedar shavings and change the newspapers frequently. She could definately use some antibiotics. Also it would be a good idea to worm her to kill any maggots that you haven't gotten. You might want to pluck some on the feathers around the wounded area so you can get to it to treat it better. To get maggots out of a wound, get yourself some tweezers and an empty clean spray bottle. Fill the bottle with half hydrogen peroxide and half water. When you spray maggots with it, they'll squirm out of their hiding places to get away. Be aware that the maggots will try to crawl to higher ground while you're doing this and so you should check the creases where the legs meet the body, under the wings, the base of the tail and the base of the neck for escapees.

When I was tweezing maggots I filled a little paper dixie cup with hydrogen peroxide and a dollop of dishwashing liquid to put the maggots in once I grabbed them. The peroxide will kill them and the dishsoap breaks the surface tension so that they'll sink to the bottom. Spray the wounds with the peroxide water daily. If all goes well, the dead skin will dry up and scab off and new healthy skin will appear. Though be aware that feathers may never grow back in those places. Make sure that flies can't get to get to lay more eggs wherever you keep her. I'd refrain from putting ointments of any kind on it because you're trying to dry up the dead tissue and ointments will keep it moist and rotty. Good luck. My chicken-maggot incident was one of the worst days of my life. But now said chicken is healthy and happy and gets their hind end checked daily.

 

[lilhippiemomma]

Oh, and the purple skin is most likely dead skin. My chicken had a patch on his back where the dead skin just peeled off and you could see exposed muscle underneath. It was horrifying, but I kept spraying it with the peroxide and eventually healed up. He has a little scar there now and no feathers grow there, but other than that, he's fine now.

 

[janinepeters]

I then took her out to the yard and laid her on her back covering her head with a shirt, what I saw was a very infected prolapse and a ton of maggots inside of her chest cavity.

INSIDE her chest cavity? Are you sure? How did her chest cavity open up??? Maybe a photo would help. If maggots are in her chest cavity, and she is still alive, I would definitely put this one out her misery.

 

[idahormp]

Thanks so much for the info! Last night when I got home she was happy to see me, although she seemed very tired. I took her out to the yard again to look at her underside and there was no sign of any maggots and everything actually looked good except for the dead skin, when I poked around with the tweezers she squirmed a bit, but I was looking for maggots. I poured peroxide on her wound and rinsed it with salt water. I then let her free range a bit, but she wouldn't move much she just stood there mostly, I couldnt get her to eat or drink either. I wrapped her in a tshirt and put back in the brooder under a heat lamp, when I got up this morning she had moved away from the heat and seemed to barely keep her eyes open and just sleep. I'm afraid it may be too late now, but I want to be hopeful. She responds when she hears my voice but will only move when I lift her up, its almost like she was feeling better when she had the maggots and now that I have cleaned her it made it worse, poor thing.
@Janine
It isn't her chest cavity its down by her rib cage, the opening part you would stuff with stuffing if you were eating a whole bird, sorry I am just learning about chickens so I don't know what everything is called. My guess is her prolapse became infected, maggots began feeding on the infection and spread.
My worry is that the maggots got inside of her further than I can see, but I thought I would at least find some the day after I cleaned them all out, and unfortunately I just threw the maggots into the grass. Are there any natural ways to deworm? Tonight if she is still sleepy and not moving I think I know what I have to do If not I will post a pick.

 

[idahormp]

I am in aw! I got home last night and she was so happy sitting and drinking water and some food. I took her out and let her free range and she actually ran around a bit and when I went to grab her she ran some more, I sprayed her down as usual with a peroxide water mix which I think she doesn't like because once I did that she didn't want to move anymore, and its getting harder to see the wound. I am very hopeful at this point, but still want to de worm her, any suggestions?

 

[lilhippiemomma]

You might be able to find a wormer at a farm/feed store like Tractor Supply, although the stuff sold at my local store is usually meant to be given in water to multiple chickens by the gallon. I took my boy to the vet in the beginning because the maggots totally freaked me out. I think they gave him invermectin, I think in shot form. Though I could be wrong, that was a traumatic day. I've heard of organic apple cider vinegar being used as a natural dewormer, but I wouldn't rely on that unless someone backs me up. There are a lot of diffrent sources that say apple cider vinegar does a lot of different things... Hey board! Does anyone know of a product for deworming a single chicken? Help this girl out!

 

[idahormp]

I am very happy to report that I saved my chicken, she is running with the rest of the flock just fine again, but she hasn't laid any eggs since the infection. She is all cleaned up and you can't even tell what happened, all looks great if I can catch her to see now, I honestly don't care if she lays eggs after what I went through to save her, she is officially my pet chicken.