Need Help with Fly Strike-WARNING GRAPHIC PICTURES-NECropsy added

[seminolewind]

In 7 years I've never seen fly strike until now. My hen, Henrietta has been doing a squatting walk for 2 days. I picked her up and she had this huge mound of gunk and blood with maggots or worms infesting it. She is bone thin as well.

I threw some Sevin powder on her butt and came in here to find out what to do. I guess I'll have to soak the butt and cut off all the feathers and what not that I can.
What do I do after that? Debride it? I'm worried about how deep it's going to be.

Can anyone offer me advice on how I need to go about treating this?

 

[mrsc1951]

Seminolewind, it seems that I read an article/post from Michael Apple about successfully treating flystrike relatively recently. Sorry, I'm not good with cutting and pasting and referencing other's posts, but was looking for cause of death of one of my girls just a few weeks ago.

 

[welasharon]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/777852/maggots-on-my-chicken\
here's the link if you haven't found it yet
You are having as much bad luck I am lately with my birds! My vet cautioned against killing them without pulling them out as they can release a toxin if killed in place. Not sure how correct he is about it but I just could not stand the idea of them still there! It is a slow process. Good luck

 

[seminolewind]

Thanks. I can't believe how fast this happened. I made sure I took pics so others can see what this is.

I dusted the area with sevin, then went back out an hour later. I soaked her bottom in a bucket and removed whatever soil that I could pull off. If you look close you can see the little white maggots.



I cut away all the feathers I could and removed the maggots . It got to the point that I was scraping the bugs and the gunk off with a scalpel. I wanted to scrape down to clear skin. There was a deeper hold but didn't lead anywhere. Her vent had shrunken smaller because of all the swelling. She stunk.

When I was done, I soaked her butt in Epsom salts. Dried her off and put iodine on the area. Dried that and packed with triple antibiotic ointment, and sprinkled Sevin on it.

Here it is cleaned up. Her vent is towards the bottom of the pic, but the pic was cut off.








I put Amoxicillin in her water. I think she has an infection under it. But she is a chow hog, ate a piece of bread and half a bowl of mush. I put her in a small coop with a wire floor and put a nest with shavings in there. She has a bachelor rooster sleeping outside the door who is happy for the company.

Is Amoxicillin okay or should I use Baytril or Pen G injectable?

 

[welasharon]

Poor girl! Glad you found it when you did. I'm not sure about the antibiotic...someone else will have to chime in there.

 

[Eggcessive]

In one of these links, Michael recommends Penicillin shots for infection. Baytril may be better since you have it. Many people use epsom salt baths, betadine, or Peroxide (1-2 times only) and some use screw worm spray which is permethrin. Here are some good links to read, and sorry about your hen Karen:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...has-huge-hole-below-vent-fly-strike-confirmed
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...autionary-tale-with-graphic-photo-progression
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/07/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/822173/fly-strike-picture-of-wound-progression-of-healing

 

[seminolewind]

Thanks, Egg. I guess I have plenty of reading to do.
I guess it was painful enough for her to hide in the coop all day behind the nest. She's not in the nest tonight, she's roosting on a piece of wood in the hospital coop.

 

[seminolewind]

Poor girl! Glad you found it when you did. I'm not sure about the antibiotic...someone else will have to chime in there.

Flies are pesty every year, but this is the first year I've had multiple problems with flies. My horse got an eye infection, one of my roos got an eye infection, some of my chickens got dry pox this summer and now this fly strike. I wonder why this summer? How awful!

 

[Eggcessive]

Karen are the maggots on an area below the vent or are they around the vent? They can go up inside the vent and do more damage, but if the area is under the vent, that would be easier to manage. You all seem to have many more possibilities for problems in Florida--stick tightfleas, worse stains of fowl pox, and all of the other worm and mold problems that tropical climates keep throwing at you.

 

[welasharon]

I think because the winter was so mild that we are having more issues. We also have had more rain these last two summers.