HELP! Vent Gleet and MAGGOTS on my hen!

[gg706]

My hen is worse than ever now. She's extremely lethargic and won't even stand on her own. When I found the maggots earlier I read on one of the threads that the thing to do is clean the area with soap and water, remove as many maggots as possible and then put SWAT on the wound to prevent any new fly problems. I had heard that maggots were good for cleaning a wound but that they could also carry diseases and that once they had eaten away the dead tissue they'd start on the living tissue (someone called it "flystrike" in another thread). Well, I didn't take any chances, not sure if this was true or not, but I cleaned the wound, removed maggots and caked on the SWAT.

The part I feel really horrible about (well, I feel horrible about the whole thing, but still), was that I was trying to examine the wound and since it's under her vent that's hard to do from the ground, so I lifted her by her legs like I've done a million times to my chickens when I dust them for bugs and inspect them. But when I did it, she threw up A LOT of liquid, and when I immediately put her down she would not stand at all. I think she may have aspirated some.

Unfortunately, I have no vet I know of to ask about avian problems, but tomorrow I will call my cat/dog vet and ask about the safety of betadine or triple antibiotic ointment on chickens and see if he knows anything. I've called around but never found an area vet that does chickens or birds of any kind. Tomorrow I will clean the wound again and see how it looks, but by the smell of it I can bet it's infected. The area around the ulcer is very red and angry too.

I thought about putting her down, but I just don't have the stomach for that. If she's still this bad tomorrow then I will probably have to, but I'm holding out hope that a good, quiet rest period might bring her back out of it. I've never had to kill one of my hens before, they're kind of just "pets" with an egg bonus. I would hardly know how to do it, let alone the fear of doing it incorrectly and causing her pain.

Thank you all for your advice. I am just waiting out tonight and seeing how she is in the morning. The guilt is really overwhelming, I feel like such a bad chicken mom.

I know how you feel a little bit. My chickens are also pets with benefits! I love them dearly. I had to cull 2 of the chicks because they couldn't poop. Not pasty butt but an internal problem that occurs in Araucanas. I do feel it was the right decision for them. It was very difficult for me as I had never killed anything before, but they were in alot of pain and I could not watch them suffer any longer. If you feel culling her is the best decision just decide to do it and go get it over with. By what you are saying about her condition I believe that is what I would do. What ever you decide good luck and God Bless.

 

[gg706]

We need an update!! How is your hen?

 

[erinnyes]

She did end up dying. She just never really perked up, refused food and water for about a day. I was going to put her down in the morning to end her suffering but when I checked on her she had already expired on her own - poor thing. All I can do now is just prevent the same thing from happening to the others - feeding them yogurt, buttermilk, and putting apple cider vinegar in their water. Fortunately my other chickens are in good health and don't have poopy butts, so I doubt they'll have any issues.

 

[Elena01]

There is so much misinformation on the internet about maggots on chickens, that when one faces the horror of an infested chicken, one also has to cope with lots of bad advice and simply wrong contentions. I've dealt with maggots on chickens, dogs and cats, and I've done as much research as I could. I've concluded that a whole lot is simply not known about these infestations and how to save the infected animal. Let me share what I now.

First of all, please do not think that maggots feeding on a living chicken indicate that some sort of beneficial larvae are cleaning up a wound.That is not what is happening.Maggots successfully cleaning and healing a wound happens under tightly controlled conditions and supervised by people who know what they are doing. It does not happen spontaneously. At least not in the usual course of events.

A chicken is not infested with maggots because it is already sick. Nor is it infested with maggots because it is wounded. Nor is it infested with maggots because it is not kept clean enough (although, of course, all of these conditions can contribute to an infestation). A well-kept, clean, healthy, unwounded chicken can be fatally infested and neither I or anyone else can tell you how to prevent it or cure it. This is the horrific fact.

There are many different kinds of flies. Several different flies lay eggs which hatch on living flesh into larvae which then feed on living flesh. When you finally see these maggots on the chicken, they will be burrowing out of the flesh and will be causing considerable damage. As best as I can construct the information I've been able to find into a descriptive narrative, the eggs are ingested by mouth, hatch in the digestive system, and tiny maggots migrate to the skin where they grow in sacs under the skin layer, and then migrate out through holes in the skin which they chew through. At this stage they cause considerable damage to the animal.

There is also a species of fly which lays its eggs on superficial wounds as well as on mucous tissues--healthy tissues. The eggs then hatch into flesh eating maggots.

It is just about impossible to catch the infestation early. Feathers prevent a good view of the flesh. By the time the bird is showing symptoms,it is pretty sick. And the symptoms come on very, very quickly. Depending on here the infestation is, you might be able to save the bird. I've had some success. The treatment is not easy on the bird or on the treatment provider. My method is to use hydrogen peroxide on any area where I see signs of maggots, and pick them off with tweezers when they emerge. I also use vaseline and neem on the skin where the infestation is. This has proved an effective treatment. However, if there is a heavy infestation in the vent area, I have, unfortunately lost the bird. This has just happened with a rooster which we saved last summer, only to have him become infested again this summer, and succumb.

One thing I am careful of: I have found that the maggots, if washed off, do not drown. I have seen them stay alive in water which has some neem in it, for more than 12 hours. I have no idea at which point the maggots can mature in soil. So I try to put the maggots into soapy or very oily water, and to flush them down the toilet, or get rid of them in some other way than to simply letting them drop in the soil, where they might well develop into more flies.

I hope this in some way helps the next person who experiences this truly horrific infestation. Generally, these fly infestations occur in late summer. this year the weather has been considerably warmer than normal, and we saw an infestation already.

 

[ellend]

if she's still perkier, i would continue to give her the acv, buttermilk, and yogurt. if she has this vent gleet (thrush - which is a yeast infection according to dawg's link) these have to make improvement. i'm speaking from human health point of view. thrush responds to providing good bacteria to re-establish a balanced gut which is what you get from the buttermilk & yogurt.
.
maggots eat dead flesh. as gross as they are they can be benficial in getting rid of what has died. they have been used in old medicine for thousands of years to get rid of the dead flesh so the healthy could re-grow. they won't eat live or healthy flesh, they will just go away unless she is too far gone.

i know very very little about chickens. i'm new to chickens, but some health things are the same no matter human or chicken.
i sure hope you have a happy ending with this. good luck

I'm an Operating Room R.N. and a life-long wildlife rehabber. I have to disagree: I argue this one with a particular surgeon all the time. Flies will lay eggs on HEALTHY orphaned animals, in any skin fold; "armpits," genitals, umbilicus, rectum, urethral opening, behind ears, corners of eyes. Normally, the mothers vigorously clean the babies and remove any fly eggs; orphans have no protection, and the maggots hatch out and burrow in. I have seen it MANY, MANY times. If they've entered a body cavity (abdomen via the umbilicus, rectum or urethra) euthanize the animal immediately. Also eyes. If they have "merely" eaten a hole in the flesh, get hydrogen peroxide, tweezers, and a med dropper. Put a drop of the hydrogen peroxide onto the hole, and wait with tweezers poised. The maggot will stick an end out of the hole to breathe. GRAB IT! If you miss, try again. Be patient. MAKE SURE TO GET EVERY ONE OF THEM. If you get them all, the skin hole will heal. If you don't, it won't, and the maggots' own excretion of wastes will break down more tissue, which they will then eat--until the animal is dead. I have saved many babies with this method. ALWAYS inspect orphans head-to-toe daily for fly eggs, and keep them clean, and protected from flies. (And yellow-jackets, which are meat-eaters, and will dine on injured animals.)

 

[Elena01]

I'm so glad you posted this.

 

[ellie32526]

My hen is worse than ever now. She's extremely lethargic and won't even stand on her own. When I found the maggots earlier I read on one of the threads that the thing to do is clean the area with soap and water, remove as many maggots as possible and then put SWAT on the wound to prevent any new fly problems. I had heard that maggots were good for cleaning a wound but that they could also carry diseases and that once they had eaten away the dead tissue they'd start on the living tissue (someone called it "flystrike" in another thread). Well, I didn't take any chances, not sure if this was true or not, but I cleaned the wound, removed maggots and caked on the SWAT.

The part I feel really horrible about (well, I feel horrible about the whole thing, but still), was that I was trying to examine the wound and since it's under her vent that's hard to do from the ground, so I lifted her by her legs like I've done a million times to my chickens when I dust them for bugs and inspect them. But when I did it, she threw up A LOT of liquid, and when I immediately put her down she would not stand at all. I think she may have aspirated some.

Unfortunately, I have no vet I know of to ask about avian problems, but tomorrow I will call my cat/dog vet and ask about the safety of betadine or triple antibiotic ointment on chickens and see if he knows anything. I've called around but never found an area vet that does chickens or birds of any kind. Tomorrow I will clean the wound again and see how it looks, but by the smell of it I can bet it's infected. The area around the ulcer is very red and angry too.

I thought about putting her down, but I just don't have the stomach for that. If she's still this bad tomorrow then I will probably have to, but I'm holding out hope that a good, quiet rest period might bring her back out of it. I've never had to kill one of my hens before, they're kind of just "pets" with an egg bonus. I would hardly know how to do it, let alone the fear of doing it incorrectly and causing her pain.

Thank you all for your advice. I am just waiting out tonight and seeing how she is in the morning. The guilt is really overwhelming, I feel like such a bad chicken mom.

What your hen has is similar to a yeast infection in humans. It is started by an imbalance in their gut and the yeast called Candida Albicans is what is causing the red swollen vent. It does sound like vent gleet. Here's what I was told to do: Bathe the area and remove all the poo around the vent. Let the chicken soak in salr water for 10 minutes or so. The salt water will help to start the healing. Hopefully it will drown the maggots too. You may need to repeat this part for a few days. You will need a solution of Lystatin liquid suspension from a vet to give for 7-10 days. If you have ever had a yeast infection the treatment if similar. Apply anti-fungal crème (athlete's foot) or yeast infection crème twice daily to affected area. Adding a clove of garlic or ACV to the water is said to help. Also feed unflavored yogurt once a week to restore the balance in the gut. Hope this helps. Don't give up. It's easier to fight when we know what we are fighting against.

 

[MasonJarJuls]

Ugh, I am so sad, I think one of my girls has this. I am just beside myself that I didn't notice anything wrong sooner. Going to try another bath tomorrow morning, but I am fearing we will lose her.

 

[alibabba]

Hey still reading, but epsom salts in the bath....is a good thing. Can't hurt. I though it in food and water just to clear out...see Hencam.com