Flystrike question - warning graphic picture

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear she is not improving. Do you ever seen any more maggots coming out of that?

If you can debride that, it may help, but if she's not eating/drinking well, then it does not sound very good. I would try just about any type of food you think she might eat - of course her normal food too, but a little egg, fish, meat, liver, high quality cat/dog food, etc. I would be tempted to see if she would eat any of those.

 

[Plinky]

Thank you. I have given her some egg. She is eating more than before. I am afraid to debride that area as it really seems like it's part of her "insides".

 

[Plinky]

Thanks to those following this and helping. Especially for continuing to look at graphic photos. Here's the latest. The green arrow is pointing to her vent. The blue circled area is a sort of crust that is raised up from her skin. The yellow area (roughly) is the part that is still open. The red arrow is pointing to an area that to me looks like her intestines with a hole in it. The goo above the yellow circle is the remainder of antibiotic ointment. I keep finding her poop (still green pesto-like stuff) attached in the yellow/blue areas which is what makes me think that there is a hole and that those are her intestines. I don't see how she could survive this, but she is eating and stands much of the time a clucks at me. Thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks to those following this and helping. Especially for continuing to look at graphic photos. Here's the latest. The green arrow is pointing to her vent. The blue circled area is a sort of crust that is raised up from her skin. The yellow area (roughly) is the part that is still open. The red arrow is pointing to an area that to me looks like her intestines with a hole in it. The goo above the yellow circle is the remainder of antibiotic ointment. I keep finding her poop (still green pesto-like stuff) attached in the yellow/blue areas which is what makes me think that there is a hole and that those are her intestines. I don't see how she could survive this, but she is eating and stands much of the time a clucks at me. Thoughts?View attachment 1779849

Is the photo taken with her laying on her back or is she upright?
Does that have a bad odor like infection?

 

[Plinky]

Yes, she's laying on her back. Her head would be at the top. I can't smell anything bad, but also have a bad cold.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would keep treating her as you are doing. Are you giving her warm soaks in Epsom salts or soapy or other water daily for 20-30 minutes? She may well have a fistula from her intestines out to the skin, but it could close up in time. It sounds like she has improved some, since she is eating and standing more. This sort of wound and flystrike can be very hard to treat for the amount of time you are devoting to her. You are very dedicated to her. I hope that her bottom heals eventually.

 

[Plinky]

Update on Blinky-
Well the wound continues to shrink- sort of. The problem is there is always green poop on the area (circled in purple), which is a considerable distance from the vent (circled in orange). I am now convinced that the poop is coming out of that area and not her vent. The first picture is from before I soaked her today (the greasy look is from the antibiotic ointment) and the second pic is after soaking (I also trimmed some more feathers around the area). She is eating, not a lot, but more than I had expected of a gruel of chick starter, molasses and a dab of olive oil. Very thin. You can see in the second pic that the area circled in purple is raised up. It looks to me like her vent has atrophied. I've been treating her for a month now. I don't want her to suffer and I think I'm heading toward euthanizing her. I'll ask again in case anyone happens to see this post- is there anyone in NE Kansas who would help me with this (I also posted on the Kansas group thread). I would be glad to offer compensation. I would then like to take her to K-State for necropsy. Very sad.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The problem is there is always green poop on the area (circled in purple), which is a considerable distance from the vent (circled in orange). I am now convinced that the poop is coming out of that area and not her vent.

She is eating, not a lot, but more than I had expected of a gruel of chick starter, molasses and a dab of olive oil. Very thin.

You can see in the second pic that the area circled in purple is raised up. It looks to me like her vent has atrophied. I've been treating her for a month now. I don't want her to suffer and I think I'm heading toward euthanizing her.

I'm so sorry that she is not getting well.
I do see the area that is raised (purple circle), do you see waste coming from that area or are you finding it there? Since it's raised, is it possible that the poop is just getting stuck there? The only thing I can think of would be try diapering her, have the diaper above that raised area and only covering the vent and see if waste comes from there or if you find waste in the diaper that is covering the vent.
May I ask about the Molasses? I'm not criticizing at all, I think you have done a remarkable job taking care of her! I know that Molasses do have health benefits, but they also act as a laxative in chickens - very common usage is for constipation and even as a flush for toxins. Oil would also act as a laxative.
Have you tried enticing her with some egg (scrambled/hard boiled), beef liver or fish (tuna, sardines, mackerel)?

I'm sure this must be so heartbreaking for you. If you do make the decision to put her down and can't find someone to help you, the lab at K-State will probably do that for you. Most labs do accept live animals and put them down (there's a fee I'm sure), that might be something to ask about.
Just some ideas. If your interested in experimenting with a diaper to see if the waste is coming from that section, here's an easy and relatively cheap way to diaper a chicken. Quite a few folks have done this.

 

[Eggcessive]

So sorry to hear that she still is seeming to have leakage of poo through the fistula in her skin. A fistula is an infected tunnel that has formed between the intestine out to the skin. I was hoping it would heal. It does seem that it may be time to put her out of her misery. Do you have any friends, family, or neighbors who hunt who might put her down? @Wyorp Rock had a good suggestion to ask if the poultry lab could euthanize her for you. Flystrike is a very dangerous potential illness in warm weather.

 

[Plinky]

Thanks all. The curious thing is that this all started before the weather got hot or even before I saw any flies. I suppose they were in the warmer coop, though I keep that fairly clean.
As for the molasses and oil, that comes from something I read about somewhere and it really helped nurse a weak hen back from the brink a couple of years ago.
Regarding the diaper, I think the poop is coming from that area because, since it is raised, if the poop was coming from the vent it would be on the underside of the raised area instead of where it is.
I don't want her to suffer unnecessarily. I understand the concept of breaking her neck, but having never done it, I'm afraid I would botch it and she would suffer more and I would freak out.
The problem with K-State is, though it's an agricultural school, Kansas is beef country, not chicken country so services like I've read about on this forum from people in chicken-raising states, are not really available from what I've seen. The K-State vet school sees backyard chickens as "exotic" animals in their pet clinic! So to euthanize, one has to pay for an office visit/exam plus euthanizing which comes to about $90-100. The gross necropsy is free however.