Non-emergency flystrike question: What did it smell like to you?

[Fluffy_Feathers]

I'm writing an article and one of the sections is about flystrike. I had a hen last year get flystrike (she survived) and I remember smelling something like hot trash when I found her. The smell is actually what tipped me off. Which would make sense since hot trash usually has a bunch of maggots in it. Just out of curiosity, has anybody else noticed this smell with a flystriken chicken of theirs?

 

[casportpony]

Noticed a smell once, but that smelled because the wing was gangrenous.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

I found my hen had it today. My dogs smelled her first. They usually arent interested in the chickens, but they were acting ravenous towards her. My son grabbed her up and said yuck she stinks. So i went to investigate, she smells like rotting flesh. Like meat left in the sun too long. She smells like death

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I found my hen had it today. My dogs smelled her first. They usually arent interested in the chickens, but they were acting ravenous towards her. My son grabbed her up and said yuck she stinks. So i went to investigate, she smells like rotting flesh. Like meat left in the sun too long. She smells like death

Is she still alive? Do you need help with your hen?

 

[PurpleCArTires]

Is she still alive? Do you need help with your hen?

Yes!! She pulled thru the night! I think i am good. Thanks to the many posts on here i think we are on a good path. She is a resuce and my oldest lady and has always laid soft eggs and would have some shmutts on her bum. I soaked her in some salt water (since i dont have epsom) and dish soap. And then thoughly sprayed the wound with peroxide and cleaned as many maggots as possible. Then packed the wound with antibotic ointment. She got two baths yesterday and i will probably give her another today if she is doing ok. She was in rought shape last night, but still has good face color and drank some water with nutridrench overnight. She has eggs with yogurt, but hasnt touched it yet. Hoping when the sun comes up, she eats and regains a bit of strengh. I appreciate the offer!

 

[blippitydar]

I stumbled upon a VERY effective treatment for flystrike just about two weeks ago. With all of the rain we've been quite the mess down here in South Louisiana. My Buff Orpingtons freestyle in the backyard all day long, and I wasn't out as much as I usually am to notice that the flies had descended pretty much overnight. I did notice that she had a somewhat poopy butt, which caught my attention bc they typically don't, but since I wasn't at all familiar with fly strike and hadn't even seen the flies yet at that point, it took a good day or day and a half to realize that they were attacking her aggressively, most likely instigated by the poopy butt. I read that it was potentially a very quickly lethal issue, so did a quick salt water and dawn soap soak; which turned out to be not very effective at eliminating the maggots, but I knew the salt would at least help with the sores and maybe slow the worms down until I could figure out what to do. The predominant advice that I could find at that point was to soak her, but that the maggots would have to be removed one by one with tweezers to ensure they were all gone. Which well...hate to say but she was probably doomed at that point. Then I googled 'how to kill maggots' because I wanted to know if dunking her butt would drown them and if so how long that would take. What I read in one article literally saved the day: kinda random but for some reason "Maggots find CINNAMON 'intolerable'". That's what it said, and it was a godsend. I went out with long rubber gloves on, filled a 5 gallon bucket about half full with warm, very salty water, and threw in about 1/4 cup of cinnamon. Put Daisy in and held on to her with one hand while I kind of wiped and 'excavated' her vent with the other gloved hand under the water. She was calm as could be in the warm water and cinnamon (think SPA, and think 'Cinnamon-Challenge' ) and almost immediately the bucket was filled with the little worms floating up and struggling to try to escape the cinnamon is all I can think because the first time I soaked her they barely budged and just seemed to retreat to inside of the vent. The cinnamon was a game-changer. I sat there with her soaking for about 15-20 minutes, and when I did one more cinnamon/salt soak that evening saw only ONE remaining maggot float up that time. Next day I turned her over a few times to check, and NO MORE MAGGOTS (!). All that was left were the raw and inflamed sores they left behind, so I followed with Vetericyn antimicrobial spray a couple of times a day for 3-4 more days, checking her for any 'next wave of maggots' each time. This was two and a half weeks ago; she felt better pretty much immediately but was slow getting back to laying. First week after, she eventually layed a few shell-less and mis-shapen eggs, but as of yesterday she's back to her normal fluffy butt and laying again. I gave the coop a good spray and a dusting of diatomaceous earth to discourage any fly activity there, and keep a spray bottle handy if I see a cluster of flies out in the yard so that I can target zap them ASAP. Just wanted to share the cinnamon spa treatment method with anyone as desperate for a treatment plan as I was.

 

[Ais]

I stumbled upon a VERY effective treatment for flystrike just about two weeks ago. With all of the rain we've been quite the mess down here in South Louisiana. My Buff Orpingtons freestyle in the backyard all day long, and I wasn't out as much as I usually am to notice that the flies had descended pretty much overnight. I did notice that she had a somewhat poopy butt, which caught my attention bc they typically don't, but since I wasn't at all familiar with fly strike and hadn't even seen the flies yet at that point, it took a good day or day and a half to realize that they were attacking her aggressively, most likely instigated by the poopy butt. I read that it was potentially a very quickly lethal issue, so did a quick salt water and dawn soap soak; which turned out to be not very effective at eliminating the maggots, but I knew the salt would at least help with the sores and maybe slow the worms down until I could figure out what to do. The predominant advice that I could find at that point was to soak her, but that the maggots would have to be removed one by one with tweezers to ensure they were all gone. Which well...hate to say but she was probably doomed at that point. Then I googled 'how to kill maggots' because I wanted to know if dunking her butt would drown them and if so how long that would take. What I read in one article literally saved the day: kinda random but for some reason "Maggots find CINNAMON 'intolerable'". That's what it said, and it was a godsend. I went out with long rubber gloves on, filled a 5 gallon bucket about half full with warm, very salty water, and threw in about 1/4 cup of cinnamon. Put Daisy in and held on to her with one hand while I kind of wiped and 'excavated' her vent with the other gloved hand under the water. She was calm as could be in the warm water and cinnamon (think SPA, and think 'Cinnamon-Challenge' ) and almost immediately the bucket was filled with the little worms floating up and struggling to try to escape the cinnamon is all I can think because the first time I soaked her they barely budged and just seemed to retreat to inside of the vent. The cinnamon was a game-changer. I sat there with her soaking for about 15-20 minutes, and when I did one more cinnamon/salt soak that evening saw only ONE remaining maggot float up that time. Next day I turned her over a few times to check, and NO MORE MAGGOTS (!). All that was left were the raw and inflamed sores they left behind, so I followed with Vetericyn antimicrobial spray a couple of times a day for 3-4 more days, checking her for any 'next wave of maggots' each time. This was two and a half weeks ago; she felt better pretty much immediately but was slow getting back to laying. First week after, she eventually layed a few shell-less and mis-shapen eggs, but as of yesterday she's back to her normal fluffy butt and laying again. I gave the coop a good spray and a dusting of diatomaceous earth to discourage any fly activity there, and keep a spray bottle handy if I see a cluster of flies out in the yard so that I can target zap them ASAP. Just wanted to share the cinnamon spa treatment method with anyone as desperate for a treatment plan as I was.

Thanks for sharing this!

 

[coach723]

Never heard of cinnamon for this, but noted in my book! In an emergency, anything that might help and won't hurt is good to know about.

 

[PurpleCArTires]

I am happy to report she is still alive and making good progress towards a full recovery! ACV and salt dips , and packing the wound with bag balm and antibacterial cream saved her!