A week and a half ago, our orpington went broody. At the same time, Nicole, our barred rock, stopped laying. We assumed it was from stress. However, as she continued to not lay, we began to worry. We ave her baths, we inspected her, we did research. Eventually we concluded it was a laying disorder, as she was pooping normally and her abdomen was swollen. As she did not seem to be in pain yet, we decided to let her live out the rest of her life in peace, with frequent checkups. However, her poop began to become more watery and green. We thought it was because of her decreasing appetite. It began to build up on her feathers, and become more difficult to wash off. Today she was bleeding all over the nesting boxes, and upon closer inspection, her rear was swarming with maggots. I gave her a bath with epsom salts to wash off a bunch of them, then picked off as many as I could, then another bath, then more picking. I have reached a conundrum. I was going to post a picture, but have no cameras currently. Basically, the worms ate a circumference into her skin. I have removed hundreds, but there are more, out of reach, in this circumference. Currently what I'm doing is watching and waiting for the stray maggot to appear. My parents will return soon with Benadite and peroxide, with which I will flush the wound.(the peroxide only for the first two days). Is there anything else I should be doing? What was she actually sick with, before the fly strike? She still has a weak appetite, though bread, mealworms and kitchen scraps arouse her attention and she has been drinking a lot. I'll mix up some electrolytes now.
