Is this fly strike? PLEASE HELP

[GracePoultry]

I'm very scared and disgusted at what I saw a few minutes ago. My hen Marmalade (5yr old Buff rock) started having some runny poop a few days ago. I found out she had a crop problem which I am currently treating. I thought the runny poop getting all over her vent feathers was because she wasn't digesting anything because of her crop problem.

But today I went out to try a treatment on her and I was trying to hold open her beak and in the scuffle 2 maggots that looked like this:

Fell off of her and I know they were alive because I saw one moving. we've had more flys now that it's getting a bit warmer but nothing crazy.

I didn't know what to do so I ran and got the hose and just started spraying all her feathers and removed as much of the poop as I could with the hose before Marmalade wasn't having it anymore. I found 3 other maggots when I was spraying her. there is a wound they are eating below her vent I think her. I'm very lost as I've never had to deal with this. is it contagious? I have another hen with soiled bum feathers and I'm worried she might have this too so I need to check her.

Please help I'm very scared for my birds

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous

 

[Eggcessive]

A water hose with water will chill her. Get her into a tub, dish tub, sink, or bucet with warm soapy water. Add some betadine, chlorhexidene, or Epsom salts, but Dawn is fine. Soak just the vent area, and get all of the maggots off her. Many will fall into the water. Wrap her in a towel, and use tweezers to get all visible maggots off. Put some antibiotic ointment or vaseline on her vent area the cover the wound. The warm soak will need to be repeated 2 or 3 times to make sure that all maggots that hatch are removed.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

 

[coach723]

Pictures would be helpful, but yes, it sounds like fly strike. Flying insects lay their eggs in the droppings around the vent, when the eggs hatch the larvae (the maggots) feed on the live bird, causing the wound. You need to give her a good soak, warm epsom salts, diluted clorhexidine, diluted betadine, or mild soapy water. Get it cleaned up well and remove every maggot you can find. Keep flushing the wound and removing any you find. Sometimes tweezers can help. Once she's dry, after the soak, apply plain triple antibiotic ointment to the wound to cover it and keep it moist, reapply as needed to keep it covered. Repeat soaking and cleaning as needed to get any more that show up, any eggs in there can continue to hatch.
Here is a link to a bird that did recover:
https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/flystrike-a-chicken-killer-cuddles-beats-the-odds-again/

 

[GracePoultry]

Thank you for the help! I gave her a bath in epsom salt with some soap for 20ish minutes and 30 some maggots came off


Then I rinsed her off in a second bath and my mom helped my clean up the wound a bit and remove any remaining maggots.

She was so good through the whole process and is now eating some eggs.
My mom is going to run to the store to get me some Betadine to put on her wound and put Vaseline over too since that's what I can afford right now. Is this a good treatment?

 

[coach723]

Make sure to continue checking for a couple of days for any more maggots that might show up, and remove them. If betadine and vaseline is what you have, then use them. Watch for any signs of irritation and discontinue the betadine if you see any. Once it looks to be healing and no more maggots, discontinue the betadine and just use the vaseline until it's completely healed. If you are able to get some in the future, a generic triple antibiotic ointment (plain-no pain killer), same as you would use on yourself for minor cuts and scrapes, is good to have on hand, which you can get just about anywhere. It's good that she is interested in eating and drinking, that is a good sign. In warmer weather, when flies are around in larger numbers, it's a good idea to check them regularly, only takes a second, especially if you have any that are prone to dirty vent feathers. Sometimes flies can find even a tiny wound and make things a whole lot worse. Hope she makes a full recovery.