Larvae Coming out of Cloaca - Help!

[battagliac]

We thought our hen had a virus or bacterial infection, and she has been slowing down and now not able to walk. Our avian vet has been on vacation and we took her to another vet, but nothing to help. Now we see larvae coming out her cloaca. What to do??? How could this be? Any advice would be appreciated. Seems like she is being eaten from the inside.

 

[battagliac]

I meant to say the maggots were inside her vent, but we cleaned them all out and there does not seem to be any more. The skin around her vent is darkening. Our vet thought it might be egg yolk peritonitis, since she waddled and then finally stopped walking, but it looks like it could be fly strike. Could the maggots be way up inside her and it's just too late to save her?

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes it sounds like fly strike, and it would be good to do some warm soaks to her vent area with weak betadine or epsom salts. Even dishwashing liquid will work, but use tweezers or whatever mean to get all maggots. Using a rubber glove and insert a finger 1-2 inches inside you can try to see if there are more inside. I would coat her vent area with Neosporin ointment or similar. The darkened skin should be scrubbed to debride or rub off the dead skin. If you go to the top of this page to the search, and enter "fly strike" you will find pages of threads with threads of how others have handled this.

 

[battagliac]

Eggcessive - thanks so much for your advice. We will try these things and keep researching. She's a fighter and is still eating watermelon with layer crumble on it. We happen to have some extra antibiotic and started giving her that too. We have her isolated indoors now to protect from flies, we shaved her back end pretty clean, and skin is drying up. There is one black rotting-looking spot smaller than a dime to the side of vent. When we moved paper towels from under her vent, we saw ever so tiny larvae rain down. Not sure where they came from but thinking must have come out of vent...? Will try your advice with finger, etc. Thanks again!