Flystrike "under" wound

[sapseason]

My free range duck was attacked, hid for a day, then returned home the next morning with flystrike in the wounds. I soaked her, picked out what i could find, applied a topical and quarantined her.

When i returned home at the end of the day, i did another soak. It was strange because many of the maggots did not float up, and remained in the wound. I gave her another long soak. When that that didn't work i pulled out the tweezers, but couldnt grasp the maggots. It appeared and acted as if a layer of tissue had "healed" over the wound and trapped the maggots inside.

It was clear i wouldn't be able to properly treat this and she looked completely miserable so I put her down.

I've dealt with this issue before but have never had maggots "trapped" before. Maybe its because she didn't get any treatment for a day so the wound had time to get infested and scab over? Has anyone ever seen anything like this?

Thanks a bunch.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry about your duck.

I suppose it's possible for the skin to have healed over and trapped the maggots.
They will burrow, so perhaps they burrowed under the scab and skin after the fact. In warm weather they can emerge in less than 24hrs, cause a lot of damage and infection in a very short period of time.

 

[Jackie-83]

Question, I understand how trapped maggots would be an issue, potentially leading to infection. But if the wound had been open, how would they be the cause of infection? Granted my poultry knowledge is minimal at best, but with a mammal maggots are an incredible tool for wound care.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Question, I understand how trapped maggots would be an issue, potentially leading to infection. But if the wound had been open, how would they be the cause of infection? Granted my poultry knowledge is minimal at best, but with a mammal maggots are an incredible tool for wound care.

For a mammal?
Do you mean medical maggot therapy in humans? If so, those are sterile maggots used in health care, not barnyard fly maggots.

Did you see this thread/video posted today? This is what maggots will do to a chicken or duck.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/severe-flystrike-please-help.1591145/

 

[Jackie-83]

For a mammal?
Do you mean medical maggot therapy in humans? If so, those are sterile maggots used in health care, not barnyard fly maggots.

Did you see this thread/video posted today? This is what maggots will do to a chicken or duck.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/severe-flystrike-please-help.1591145/

Interesting. And yes, medical maggots in humans is an example. But also barn yard maggots are common use for livestock. An example being "proud flesh" in horses. I don't think medical grade sterilized maggots are easy to come by. So you make due with what you have.
Here's an article that does a better job of explaining.
https://www.science.org/content/article/how-maggots-heal-wounds