Chickens for almost a year.. first massacre yesterday. :(

[carcar80]

Tam, I did soak her hiney in Epsom salt water several times. Several maggots ended up in the water but not NEAR enough to make me feel like it was helping that much.

Angelicisi- I wondered about them eating good flesh also. I knew it was good they have eaten the bad but yes, now they need to go. And I "vurped" several times too, lol! I'm an OR nurse and have cleaned some disgusting wounds, but maggots are where I draw the line! LOL! The DANG things are impossible to catch hold of, ESP when wet. :vrrrrp:

The bacon thing sounds quite interesting. I may research that! Although I'm picturing how I would convince her it should stay on for 20min.

Okay. I will see what things look like in the morning and will see what I can do about brushing them away. I wish I had a work friend nearby.. Hubby is just not into this, but he may have to get over it. I did do another dousing of betadine after all that earlier.. She is still In good spirits but was ready to be DONE. And so was I.

 

[hokankai]

You need to manually remove the maggots. That is what vets do, and that's the only thing that's going to keep them from eating into her and getting to organs or doing permanent damage. Keep her inside and away from flies. If she has irreparable damage from her injuries I would euthanize her before she starts to suffer.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

I know it how it is to want to do everything you can. At some point you have to step back and ask yourself if this is worth it all. What kind of quality of life is she going to have? Is she still going to be able to produce eggs? Is she going to have pain do to scar tissue, or other healing related issues? It is hard knowing when to draw the line. I sure hope that everything works out!

 

[carcar80]

Hokankai that's the plan.. I'm going to hit it again in the AM. I'm just so worried, as quickly as they've moved so far, well...

But no, don't worry.. First sign of suffering, she's done.

 

[carcar80]

TaraBella- thank you.

 

[Alaskan]

If you have to talk her into staying still.....then she can't be that bad off....

at least with my chickens, when they are bad off, they tend to be lethargic and just not want to move much at all.

totally disgusting, but awesome that you are doing it all.......

tell us how it goes...


if you think that it is getting to be too much pain for her, and decide to put her down, tell us that too


Good luck!! and

I am starting to wonder why my eagle attack chicken never got any maggots...we do have flies in Alaska.... dunno, and that one puncture wound was all the way into her gut area, a feather at least 4 inches long was completely inserted. dunno...this sort of thing is such a 'you just don't know until it is all over' kind of thing.

 

[carcar80]

Well. After all my reading/thinking/research last night, I had decided I would have hubby cull this AM. Was totally at peace with it. Then I woke up and looked out on the porch to see her happily pecking at her food and drinking.. Ugh.

My dilemma: if these wounds take weeks to heal like the stories on here I was reading last night, or if these maggots take days to get rid of, I do NOT have that daily time to dedicate. Come tomorrow morning it's back to work. Some mornings I'm there as early as 5:15 and I get home at suppertime. There are plenty of other animals and humans here that need my attention.

Ugh. So now I'm back to, I'll assess the wounds and creepy crawlies this morning and see how I feel. If I thought by the end of this week she could be back with the flock I'd consider it. The wounds aren't that deep, like I said.. As far as I can tell anyway.. The maggots are just really hanging on in there. :brrrp:

 

[carcar80]

Was able to get an "OK" pic.. here's what I'm dealing with. It's about four holes total, all filled with 'em.





*****************ICK FACTOR WARNING FOR THE FAINT OF STOMACH*********************


















So what we're looking at starts just under the base of the tail.. two maggot-filled areas left and right under the base, and then the vent is underneath that blackened flap-looking area just below those two holes. Then the two holes underneath. I SWEAR, when we initially cleaned her off yesterday there were no that many holes.. :

You can see she is basically completely scalped as well. Bless her heart...

 

[carcar80]

And just to lighten the mood, a clip of my other five leaving the coop this morning. The first out is Olive, the only other one that had a small injury. Then Steve my oldest roo, ready for love as always (it's his theme song, I usually sing it every morning a he comes out but I spared y'all- LOL!!)

I love how they left the stall, one roo leading the way and the other bringing up the rear.. Off to the grape vines! And had to get a shot of Pony Boy, hanging out and about to knock over my coffee!

I was shocked, all three of those hens gave me an egg yesterday. I figured it'd be a couple days after all that stress!!

 

[sue turpin]

Love the "happy" video. You are doing such an awesome job! Gosh, I'm a Hospice nurse and I get weepy when we cull our birds so I know what you mean. Nursing skills out the window with our chickens! All the best. This site has so many wonderful, knowledgable people, they have taught me a lot. I refer to these members always for tough questions. All the best to you.