lifeless

[donpintozzi]

A chicken was walking around with it's head kinda sunken in. When I turned her over her bottom was caked with poo and even saw a few maggots. Any idea how bad this is and can it affect my other birds ?

 

[Eggcessive]

That is known as fly strike and you need to immediately get her into a dish pan, bucket or sink with warm soapy water, and work on removing all maggots that you can see. Once she is out and dried off look again for any maggots and remove the ones that did nit come off in the water. Put neosporin or vaseline on her vent area to smother the maggot. Permethrin spray can help as well. This sounds excessive, but repeat the warm soaks 2-3 times in the next 12-24 hours, because more maggots may hatch out. Can you post a picture of her vent by any chance?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

It will kill her if you don't get her cleanrd up immediately. The other chickens are not at risk unless they have sores or dirty bums.

 

[Eggcessive]

You asked about the others. You should also check for any poop on vents once you get this hen taken care of. Think about treating for flies with permethrin spray in the coop if you don’t raise bees. Flies can be deadly if there is a wound or a poopy vent in warm weather.

 

[donpintozzi]

That is known as fly strike and you need to immediately get her into a dish pan, bucket or sink with warm soapy water, and work on removing all maggots that you can see. Once she is out and dried off look again for any maggots and remove the ones that did nit come off in the water. Put neosporin or vaseline on her vent area to smother the maggot. Permethrin spray can help as well. This sounds excessive, but repeat the warm soaks 2-3 times in the next 12-24 hours, because more maggots may hatch out. Can you post a picture of her vent by any chance?

Thanks for your reply. We’ve done everything as you suggested. I can’t send a picture right now. I think she’ll be OK. I’ll keep you informed. Appreciate the quick response.