Flystrike

[cherrynberry]

Our hen got flystrike. We have dealt with it before, so made sure to wash her butt often (she keeps getting diarrhea because of the heat). Yet, she got flystrike. I noticed she was odd, not too odd, but odd. So we gave her a dish soap soak, removed visible maggots, cut the feathers near her vent, and have her in a dog crate right now. Mot sure what to do next and want a gauge of how bad it is trom the experts. Her underside is slightly swollen as well. There is a hole under her vent, its about 1-2 cm deep. Her vent is bleeding as well. 😔 @Wyorp Rock

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Are there still maggots inside that wound?

 

[cherrynberry]

Are there still maggots inside that wound?

Maybe small ones, but not any we can see.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Maybe small ones, but not any we can see

If there's any in there, they need to go, they are going to cause further damage.
It looks pretty deep, so they may have breached to abdominal cavity.
Do you have any chlorhexidine? I would dilute some of that and flush the wound out really well with that.

 

[cherrynberry]

If there's any in there, they need to go, they are going to cause further damage.
It looks pretty deep, so they may have breached to abdominal cavity.
Do you have any chlorhexidine? I would dilute some of that and flush the wound out really well with that.

We will wash her again tommorrow. Right now she is in a fly proof crate. Sadly, I only have hydrogen peroxide, which I am not sure if I could use. Tried to flush the wound with water in a syringe, it only got out a few baby maggots. So far, I dont 'see' any, but they could very well be hiding, so we will check tommorrow again. Will permethrin dust help kill larvae? Could Vaseline be applied to the wound? I dont have swat gel.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I think I would do a 1 time flush of diluted Hydrogen Peroxide, that may help suffocate and/or make any maggots come out.
You can put a thin layer of vaseline on the outside of the wound to help keep that crust softened.
Is the wound getting any poop in it?

 

[cherrynberry]

I think I would do a 1 time flush of diluted Hydrogen Peroxide, that may help suffocate and/or make any maggots come out.
You can put a thin layer of vaseline on the outside of the wound to help keep that crust softened.
Is the wound getting any poop in it?

Not in it, but slightly on the top, the photo was before she had a full glove clean up. We removed the dried poop and cut some feathers around the wound. She has since pooped twice, it doesnt go in the wound.

 

[cherrynberry]

I think I would do a 1 time flush of diluted Hydrogen Peroxide, that may help suffocate and/or make any maggots come out.
You can put a thin layer of vaseline on the outside of the wound to help keep that crust softened.
Is the wound getting any poop in it?

How much hydrogen peroxide to water? Or should I make a batch of saline?

 

[cherrynberry]

I think I would do a 1 time flush of diluted Hydrogen Peroxide, that may help suffocate and/or make any maggots come out.
You can put a thin layer of vaseline on the outside of the wound to help keep that crust softened.
Is the wound getting any poop in it?

Okay, the plan is to check her again tommorrow. We may dust her with permethrin, we will check for more maggots, remove them, maybe wash her, and dry her if she is washed. I will be feeding softened feed with some flax and corn as a treat (Not sure if thats going to help much)

From personal experience, do you think she will make it? I just want an honest response. Maybe we are too late? Most flystrike cases on BYC seem to be a loosing case... 😭

Edit: Do you think her wound may have reached her intestines already? The wound is about 1-2 cm deep.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is she doing?

It's really hard to know if they have breached the intestinal wall or not.

Is there a bad odor like infection?