Parasite Help

[mksauce23]

I found a few what looks like tiny maggots/worms in and around one of my hen's droppings this morning in the roost. Are these roundworms? I would imagine they would look different. I worm my chickens with Wazine every fall when they molt & slow their laying... and have never had an issue with worms/parasites before. However, after finding these things in the droppings this morning I immediately put some Wazine in the hens' waterer.

The suspect hen is about 5yo and doesn't lay much anymore, I got a couple eggs in the early spring. She's also a very mellow hen, but has been a little more so lately since she's had a bout of sour crop a couple of weeks ago that I seemingly self-treated by vomiting her and giving her Nystatin so I've been keeping an eye on her. Her crop seems to be working fine and she's definitely improved since then, but not 100%. But I'm assuming her immune system has been down so she contracted some sort of parasite...

Anywho, can someone help identify what these are and how to treat it?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Could just be a maggot from any of the many fly species that lay their eggs in poop.

 

[mksauce23]

I thought it looked like a maggot more than a worm. However, is it odd that there would be half a dozen of them in and around one set of droppings? Also, I scoop the poop out of the roost every morning, so I found these not long after the sun came up before work. Would that be enough time for a fly to lay eggs and it hatch into a larvae? Also, I should note that they range from about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long and some were dead, some were still alive.

 

[coach723]

I would suggest that you give each bird a thorough going over to make sure you have no hidden wounds or dirty vents that have flystrike. Fly eggs can hatch in as little as 8 hours, here is an article: http://animals.mom.me/fast-maggots-hatch-10348.html

 

[mksauce23]

Update! It appears she does have fly strike and had a quarter-sized open wound right under her tail feathers where more maggots were. I cleaned it thoroughly, used Betadine and an animal wound cleaner I picked up from Petsmart and covered it with petroleum jelly. The wound doesn't appear to be pussy or have dead flesh around it, so I'm glad I caught this early. She's going to be spending several days inside and I plan to repeat this

 

[coach723]

I'm very glad you found it.
Veterycin spray or neosporin without pain killer would be better to use on the wound.
And you should check several times a day for about a week to make sure that no more fly eggs hatch. Here are a couple of links that may help: http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2014/07/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes.html
https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/flystrike-a-chicken-killer-cuddles-beats-the-odds-again/
Best of luck and hope she makes a full recovery.