Fly strike

[Ila88]

Well that's the grossest thing I've had to do yet. My black Australorp was acting droopy so I brought her in for a check up. I felt a mass and thought she might be egg bound. After soaking her in a tub of warm Epsom salt water, I inspected and saw a large gaping wound, crawling with maggots! Uggggg. Anyway, I think I managed to get them all out and rinsed with hydrogen peroxide and betadine. There are conflicting instructions about antibiotic cream. What do you experts think? I trimmed her feathers around the vent which I think also had mite nests, then dusted with DE. I let her wander because I find when they are separated they get depressed. Any advice welcome.

 

[Eggcessive]

Fly strike is deadly, and there may be more maggots that you are not seeing. I would give her a warm bath in Epsom salts, and flush out the wound. Get permethrin to spray her wound, and that will help kill the maggots. I would use the antibiotic ointment (plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic) as well. Can you post a picture? Was there poop, a wound, or a prolapse that caused the fly strike?

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a good article to read:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

Here is a current thread on fly strike with good posts:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/barred-rock-with-worms-on-vent.1258145/

 

[deepbluesea]

Hi
I've got the same thing going with my barred rock. You're absolutely right--it's horrible and gross. I'm going to bathe her a couple of times a day tomorrow and maybe Monday. I hope they both heal up.
I have a GLW who got maimed by a red-tailed hawk and her wound was also bad. She got better and is running around a year later.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

My chicken vet recommends giving a drop of Ivermectin orally when you do the initial wound cleaning to care of anything internal. The last fly strike I had to deal with took me 3 hours to clean out all of the maggots and the eggs. We were originally cleaning with Chlorhexidine but then we switched to a Betadine Scrub solution. When we started spraying the Betadine solution on the wound, the maggots that were deeply embedded came to the surface. Apparently, they do not like Betadine! We were fortunate in that we got them all on the first night. I only found one the next day. I cleaned her wound twice a day every day for two weeks with Chlorhexidine and then followed up with some Neo-Predef antibiotic powder that I had on hand. I am sure that Vetricyn would be helpful as well had I not had the Neo-Predef. That was three weeks ago and my sweet girl is almost back to normal.

 

[Ila88]

My chicken vet recommends giving a drop of Ivermectin orally when you do the initial wound cleaning to care of anything internal. The last fly strike I had to deal with took me 3 hours to clean out all of the maggots and the eggs. We were originally cleaning with Chlorhexidine but then we switched to a Betadine Scrub solution. When we started spraying the Betadine solution on the wound, the maggots that were deeply embedded came to the surface. Apparently, they do not like Betadine! We were fortunate in that we got them all on the first night. I only found one the next day. I cleaned her wound twice a day every day for two weeks with Chlorhexidine and then followed up with some Neo-Predef antibiotic powder that I had on hand. I am sure that Vetricyn would be helpful as well had I not had the Neo-Predef. That was three weeks ago and my sweet girl is almost back to normal.

Thanks for the advice and sympathy! The vet is closed for the weekend but I will get some Ivermectin on Monday. I did crush up a penecillin pill, dissolved it and gave her some via eye dropper.

 

[Ila88]

Fly strike is deadly, and there may be more maggots that you are not seeing. I would give her a warm bath in Epsom salts, and flush out the wound. Get permethrin to spray her wound, and that will help kill the maggots. I would use the antibiotic ointment (plain Neosporin or Triple Antibiotic) as well. Can you post a picture? Was there poop, a wound, or a prolapse that caused the fly strike?

They are in bed now, but I will treat again tomorrow and will post a pic. I suspect there was poop. She is one of my large birds and they tend to be poopy. No more; Mom is now on clean bum patrol. I never want to deal with this again!!

 

[Ila88]

Hi
I've got the same thing going with my barred rock. You're absolutely right--it's horrible and gross. I'm going to bathe her a couple of times a day tomorrow and maybe Monday. I hope they both heal up.
I have a GLW who got maimed by a red-tailed hawk and her wound was also bad. She got better and is running around a year later.

Thanks deep blue sea. I hope they both get better too. I need to check my barred rock. She often has a poopy bum too.

 

[Ila88]

Here is a good article to read:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

Here is a current thread on fly strike with good posts:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/barred-rock-with-worms-on-vent.1258145/

Thanks. I did read these. It was Chicken Chick who said not to use the ointment, but I will apply it tomorrow.

 

[Peanutsmomma]

Thanks for the advice and sympathy! The vet is closed for the weekend but I will get some Ivermectin on Monday. I did crush up a penecillin pill, dissolved it and gave her some via eye dropper.

You officially have your chicken momma badge of courage because dealing with a fly strike is not for the faint of heart or stomach!!! Hope your girl pulls through with flying colors.