hen smells bad, has small flies hanging around her.

[Dynahoe Dave]

The smell I had noticed when we got the 3 hens & rooster. But I thought it was just some poo or something. But today, I noticed the one hen staying apart from the others, and she had some small fly like bugs sitting on her. She has kind of mangy feathers on her tail.

I also saw her sticking her head under her, picking at [I assumed] feathers. But saw a small off white worm like thing fall. About the size of a piece of rice.

I had them out free ranging while I did stuff in the area. At dusk, the healthy ones returned to the coop as expected. But the Partridge rock was nowhere to be found. We had just about given up, and I was looking around the garage o ne last time, when I got a wiff of that smell. Found her. All listless. Like when they are sleeping, but even more so. Anyway, there was some blackish ooze on the floor under where she was. It has the bad smell. We wiped her some. She's missing feathers from her underside. Put her in some bedding in a box in the garage, rather than back with the healthy ones.


Any Ideas of what's happened / happening to her?

 

[keesmom]

Have you looked her over for wounds or bugs? It sounds like she has an infected wound and maggots have moved in. You need to clean out the maggots, and whatever they've settled in.

 

[bj taylor]

i don't know chicken health well at all. the smell makes me think infection. could she have maggots? there's a condition called "fly strike" you might look up. see if you can get ahold of her & take a real close up look at her underbelly & vent area. there might be a wound that isn't readily aparent.
i hope someone responds with more experience in chicken health. good luck

 

[texas75563]

Sounds like she had a wound and flies laid eggs inside. Now eggs have turned to maggots. Maggots are falling out.

Almost 30 years ago in school. I worked for a vet. We used Furosol on open wounds. It is an antibiotic spray. It will also keep flies away, keep them laying more eggs.

 

[Dynahoe Dave]

Sounds like fly strike. Found other threads discussing that.

It doesn't matter now, she died. The stinky smell in the coop was only her. No smell in there now. She had it on the way home, I thought it was just the poop in the cage. The smell was kind of like a dead animal, so I'll know if I smell it again, for sure. You don't forget that smell.