Fly strike and Vent Gleet **GRAPHIC PICS**

[Bird-Whisperer]

Hey y’all, I have a couple sick hens: Pepper is a redstar about 4 years old and Buttercup is a golden campine about 3 years old. I noticed that both of them are lethargic, not eating, and have poop smeared all over their vent area. I assumed they had vent gleet so I put probiotics in their drinking water and gave them a warm bath this morning. I washed buttercup with no problems, dried her off then she drank some water and laid in the sun. Pepper, on the other hand, was really irritated and when I looked at her vent during the bath, I found that there were tons of maggots burrowing under her tail area!

My sister held her so I could pull them all out and rinse her off, but there is some slimy, putrid necrotic tissue where all the maggots were. I sprayed Vetericyn and slathered on Neosporine to the area. Should I try removing the rotting tissue or is it best to let it dry up and slough off on its own? Here are some pictures for you:

I immediately inspected Buttercup for maggots but didn't find any so I assume she’s got vent gleet. She’s always been a picky eater, but since yesterday she hasnt eaten. Her crop felt like clay yesterday so I gave her some bread with olive oil and massaged it. It’s gotten a whole lot smaller but still not empty. She’s lost a lot of weight over the last few days and is skin and bones now...
I would really appreciate any suggestions y’all have that can help my girls!

TLDR; I have an emaciated 3 year old Golden Campine with what I believe is vent gleet who will not eat, and a 4 year old redstar who got nasty fly strike under her tail that now has slimy rotting tissue. Also - HOW THE HECK DO YOU KILL MAGGOTS?!

 

[Eggcessive]

Can you get some Betadine or Epsom salts to soak her in? This will need to be done for about 30 minutes at least once or twice a day until the maggots are all gone. Gently wash the slimy material with a soft cloth. Spray the cleaned vent with Vetericyn or weak betadine. Or apply plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment to the area twice a day. Here is a good article to read:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

 

[Bird-Whisperer]

Can you get some Betadine or Epsom salts to soak her in? This will need to be done for about 30 minutes at least once or twice a day until the maggots are all gone. Gently wash the slimy material with a soft cloth. Spray the cleaned vent with Vetericyn or weak betadine. Or apply plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic Ointment to the area twice a day. Here is a good article to read:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

Thanks! I have epsom salts that I bathed them in this morning. I will continue to use it and let you know if things get better

 

[Eggcessive]

Good luck.

 

[Bird-Whisperer]

Good morning everyone,

Unfortunately, Buttercup was too week and died sometime last night I didn’t think she was going to make it since she was so thin, but its always so sad to see them go...

Pepper, on the other hand, is doing a whole lot better! She’s eating normally, digging around and making chicken noises again! I took her out of the run so the roosters won’t bother her (and so nobody starts cannibalizing her raw spot) and I’ll give her another bath in a couple hours since it’s supposed to get up to 70 today where I am

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss, but flystrike can be deadly if not discovered right away. During warm weather, I pay more attention to keeping poopy vents clean. Good luck with your other hen.

 

[nutellacrepe]

Good morning everyone,

Unfortunately, Buttercup was too week and died sometime last night I didn’t think she was going to make it since she was so thin, but its always so sad to see them go...

Pepper, on the other hand, is doing a whole lot better! She’s eating normally, digging around and making chicken noises again! I took her out of the run so the roosters won’t bother her (and so nobody starts cannibalizing her raw spot) and I’ll give her another bath in a couple hours since it’s supposed to get up to 70 today where I am

Good morning everyone,

Unfortunately, Buttercup was too week and died sometime last night I didn’t think she was going to make it since she was so thin, but its always so sad to see them go...

Pepper, on the other hand, is doing a whole lot better! She’s eating normally, digging around and making chicken noises again! I took her out of the run so the roosters won’t bother her (and so nobody starts cannibalizing her raw spot) and I’ll give her another bath in a couple hours since it’s supposed to get up to 70 today where I am

I’m so sorry you lost Buttercup. If you encounter vent gleet again, this was what I did for my chicken.

Poppy has bad vent gleet last year. She was really reeking from the vent area and was lethargic. My friend suggested that looked for fish zole. We found some from a pet store. Twice a day, I’d crush a probiotic pill (got it from CVS), put it in some plain yogurt mixed with her feed and a quarter teaspoon of the fish zole which is also Metronidazole. I also added Apple cider vinegar to her water. She got better and well in about 3 weeks. She started laying again.

Unfortunately, yesterday we discovered she has fly strike and are treating her for it. It was gross.

 

[nutellacrepe]

Good luck.

: ) I like your member login name, it's cute.

 

[Bird-Whisperer]

@nutellacrepe Thank you for the advice! Sorry to hear Poppy has flystrike - it is indeed gag worthy .
Since I forgot to give an update on Pepper:
I used tweezers and pulled out all the maggots I could get off of her and rinsed her in some warm epsom-salt water (I also used a syringe to squirt the smaller ones off in the hard to reach areas) then sprayed the open wounds with Veteracyn Spray. All the necrotic tissue dried up and sloughed off within a day and she's healed up nicely now! I had another encounter of flystrike with my other girl, Waffle, and she had it all over her vent, belly and thy area. It was really really bad and I didn't think she would make it - a lot of her skin wasn't really attached to her body anymore and she was very week/anemic - but she's also healed up and back to her old self, laying eggs and all

Thanks for all the help everyone!
God Bless!

 

[nutellacrepe]

@nutellacrepe Thank you for the advice! Sorry to hear Poppy has flystrike - it is indeed gag worthy .
Since I forgot to give an update on Pepper:
I used tweezers and pulled out all the maggots I could get off of her and rinsed her in some warm epsom-salt water (I also used a syringe to squirt the smaller ones off in the hard to reach areas) then sprayed the open wounds with Veteracyn Spray. All the necrotic tissue dried up and sloughed off within a day and she's healed up nicely now! I had another encounter of flystrike with my other girl, Waffle, and she had it all over her vent, belly and thy area. It was really really bad and I didn't think she would make it - a lot of her skin wasn't really attached to her body anymore and she was very week/anemic - but she's also healed up and back to her old self, laying eggs and all

Thanks for all the help everyone!
God Bless!

@nutellacrepe Thank you for the advice! Sorry to hear Poppy has flystrike - it is indeed gag worthy .
Since I forgot to give an update on Pepper:
I used tweezers and pulled out all the maggots I could get off of her and rinsed her in some warm epsom-salt water (I also used a syringe to squirt the smaller ones off in the hard to reach areas) then sprayed the open wounds with Veteracyn Spray. All the necrotic tissue dried up and sloughed off within a day and she's healed up nicely now! I had another encounter of flystrike with my other girl, Waffle, and she had it all over her vent, belly and thy area. It was really really bad and I didn't think she would make it - a lot of her skin wasn't really attached to her body anymore and she was very week/anemic - but she's also healed up and back to her old self, laying eggs and all

Thanks for all the help everyone!
God Bless!

Thank you @Bird-Whisperer, for the advice and hope. I gave Poppy a warm salt butt soak yesterday and sprayed Vetericyn as well. I will do it again today. I’m so glad Pepper and Waffle got well. Yay, that gives me hope that Poppy could be well too!