Maggots were eating my hen alive: UPDATE she won't eat

[ccshambhala]

maggots only eat dead tissue - the maggots don't hurt her. My guess is that the other chickens pecked her bum - giving her a wound in soft tissue. Which then attracted flies. That would certainly be an uncomfortable & vulnerable place for an open wound. Keeping her clean and isolated is probably the best you can do. I've only had chicks with pasty butt so far (knock on wood) - but I have noticed other chicks try to go after their butts after I clean them

Good luck!! I hope she and your mom are feeling better soon!

 

[wyoDreamer]

I see the OP hasn't posted in a while.
Any updates? Did she snap out of it or was she too far gone?

 

[winekntrychicks]

I would say the maggots would have been a good thing as they eat all the dead stuff and infection. Give her some organic apple cider vinegar in her water. Might perk her up a little.

 

[dominiquetrix]

Hi, I'm relatively new to chickens but I have a suggestion. What about NutriDrench? It says on the bottle it'd good for stress. I have read lots of good things about it and it seems to have worked well on my month old chicks.

Just a thought. if you can't get that brand I believe poly vi sol, WITHOUT iron, also works the same way.

Good luck!

I hope she's okay.

 

[yinepu]

I always keep a bottle of sterile eye wash and some tweezers around in case of maggots (used to do wildlife rehab). the sterile eye wash is safe for flushing woulds and the tweezers are good for maggot removal. I know a lot of people are creeped out by them.. but they can actually help a wound to heal by eating the dead and rotting flesh.

 

[Juniperwak]

It looks like the prolapse has popped out again, that on top of the maggots and parasites is my limit. Consulted with my boss (veterinarian who raises chickens and turkeys) and she agreed. Looks like my flock is down one. Still definitely deworming the rest, she mentioned that parasitic activity might have helped cause the prolapse.