Flystrike too bad to save? (Graphic)

[Flystrikeboba]

Hi. Please help.. our sweetest hen Boba has a terrible case of flystrike. We took her to the vet, they cleaned it out and said we may want to put her down or try to see if it heals. Is this too far gone? How do we clean out this deep wound without hurting her?

The green goop is a product the vet applied

 

[Tookie]

That looks terrible. You may want to spray some Vetericyn on it.
@azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I'm so sorry your hen is dealing with this. How is your hen acting otherwise? Is she eating and drinking? How does she deal with being handled, bathed and treated? Do you know what led to this? Those would be the questions that determined how I proceeded. I tend to try to treat. They always say "you'll know when it's time to put your pet down" and I didn't understand it until I experienced it and it's so true. Some birds do better than others, like with anything. She's going to need more baths over the next few days to remove any maggots that hatch as well as aggressive treatment. She'll also need to be kept in an area where flies can't get to her and cause more problems, preferably indoors. @cherrynberry dealt with this last year so she may have some insight for you.
I wish you the best with your hen. Please keep us updated

 

[azygous]

First of all, understand that while chickens do feel pain, they are very stoic about it. Leave it up to her to cope with the pain, so that leaves you free to treat her wound.

Wound treatment consists of debriding, flushing away debris and bacteria, and dressing the wound with an antibiotic ointment.

Debriding consists of removing all pus, dirt, and dead skin. Each day. Then keep the wound moist at all times with the wound ointment, never allowing the wound to dry out until it gets all new skin over the wound, not a scab.

Do you know how she was hurt? Flystrike usually happens when flies discover an infected wound. Rarely it happens because the flies lay eggs in a poopy butt and then the maggots when hatching eat the tissue under the poop, creating a wound where there was none before.

Either way, you now need to stay on top of the wound care so infection doesn't become systemic. Did the vet give her a shot of an antibiotic? It might not be a bad idea to have her on an antibiotic.

 

[Dakota8472]

@azygous is very right, They handle pain well. Id keep it clean, keep them away from the other chickens and potential infections, use any meds that you were given etc. And id just pray and see how the chicken does. I was so scared for one baby bard rock i have that lost a wing and had bone sticking out. I operated to remove the bone and now its still climbing into freaking trees instead of heading to the coop at night lol. I hope ur hen feels beter soon. We are here sending good vibes

 

[Dakota8472]

Cant tell well from pic, is the bowl and cloaca intact?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Are all the maggots gone?

Could the vet tell is the abdominal wall had been breached?

Did they put her on any antibiotics?

 

[flaphappy]

Hi everyone, I'm Boba's other "parent" and just wanted to thank you all for the feedback. Boba received a shot of penicillin at the vet and then I continued to apply a topical antibiotic/anti-inflammatory they gave me. I gave her an additional bath the day after the vet to remove the remaining maggots and I have not seen any since. She has been living indoors with us. She ate a lot the day after the vet but has stopped since then, so I took her to an avian vet where they found a lump along her intestines, and they can't tell if it's a blockage or a tumor. They think that's what made her vulnerable to flystrike. She is currently on an oral laxative and an intramuscular laxative to see if it helps. The avian vet had me switch out the topical antibiotic for manuka honey so now I'm applying that to her wound instead. Here is a picture of how her wound is currently doing.

I started a separate thread for her intestinal issues here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ure-whats-best-for-her.1537359/#post-25939204

Thanks again for all the feedback, it was very reassuring to hear what you guys had said when I was stressing out about this.

 

[Dakota8472]

Hi everyone, I'm Boba's other "parent" and just wanted to thank you all for the feedback. Boba received a shot of penicillin at the vet and then I continued to apply a topical antibiotic/anti-inflammatory they gave me. I gave her an additional bath the day after the vet to remove the remaining maggots and I have not seen any since. She has been living indoors with us. She ate a lot the day after the vet but has stopped since then, so I took her to an avian vet where they found a lump along her intestines, and they can't tell if it's a blockage or a tumor. They think that's what made her vulnerable to flystrike. She is currently on an oral laxative and an intramuscular laxative to see if it helps. The avian vet had me switch out the topical antibiotic for manuka honey so now I'm applying that to her wound instead. Here is a picture of how her wound is currently doing.

I started a separate thread for her intestinal issues here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ure-whats-best-for-her.1537359/#post-25939204

Thanks again for all the feedback, it was very reassuring to hear what you guys had said when I was stressing out about this.

Glad they have hung on.