Permethrin for Maggots

[DeeSully]

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice after discovering a maggot infested wound on one of our hens yesterday. We initially panicked at the sheer horror of the injury, it seems that the maggots had been tunneling away under her skin on her belly for quite awhile, and we only became aware when the wound burst open. We decided not to cull her and, thanks to Backyard Chickens we followed all of the advice on how to soak the wound and drown the maggots. We then sprayed the area with antiseptic spray and have her on an antibiotic and multivitamin. I can't help but worry that some of the maggots have survived the multiple baths we gave her yesterday, even though we repeated the process until we couldn't see any more.

I have been researching permethrin insecticide as a way to kill the maggots on contact, but (because I am in rural Africa) the only permethrin I have is the kind you spray on clothes and mosquito nets. The ingredients and concentration seem to be identical to the spray used for livestock, the only difference I can see is that it's a trigger spray rather than an aerosol. But the bottle is covered in warnings not to spray on skin, that it's toxic, to contact poison control in case of accidental ingestion etc. This doesn't seem like something I want to experiment with on an already traumatised chicken!

Does anyone have experience with this? Is it the same chemical? Thank you to everyone who posts on here, our little hen has a fighting chance because of BYC!

 

[sourland]

I'd be reluctant to spray it on an open wound. Just observe and continue with treatment. Good luck.

 

[DeeSully]

I'd be reluctant to spray it on an open wound. Just observe and continue with treatment. Good luck.

This is my gut feeling too. I'll bathe her again in saline this evening and hopefully catch any maggots that may have escaped yesterday. On a positive note, she is a lot perkier than she was yesterday and is protesting at being handled, and she is eating and drinking. She is a tough lady!

 

[Ducklady58]

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice after discovering a maggot infested wound on one of our hens yesterday. We initially panicked at the sheer horror of the injury, it seems that the maggots had been tunneling away under her skin on her belly for quite awhile, and we only became aware when the wound burst open. We decided not to cull her and, thanks to Backyard Chickens we followed all of the advice on how to soak the wound and drown the maggots. We then sprayed the area with antiseptic spray and have her on an antibiotic and multivitamin. I can't help but worry that some of the maggots have survived the multiple baths we gave her yesterday, even though we repeated the process until we couldn't see any more.

I have been researching permethrin insecticide as a way to kill the maggots on contact, but (because I am in rural Africa) the only permethrin I have is the kind you spray on clothes and mosquito nets. The ingredients and concentration seem to be identical to the spray used for livestock, the only difference I can see is that it's a trigger spray rather than an aerosol. But the bottle is covered in warnings not to spray on skin, that it's toxic, to contact poison control in case of accidental ingestion etc. This doesn't seem like something I want to experiment with on an already traumatised chicken!

Does anyone have experience with this? Is it the same chemical? Thank you to everyone who posts on here, our little hen has a fighting chance because of BYC!

I have always used diluted iodine to wash Out the wound and drown the maggots....and pick them out, one by one. Afterwards apply bag balm. In winter when there is no issue with flies I also apply Manuka honey, then bag balm over that. I’ve never had to give the chickens an antibiotic and they do well with this treatment.

 

[DeeSully]

I have always used diluted iodine to wash Out the wound and drown the maggots....and pick them out, one by one. Afterwards apply bag balm. In winter when there is no issue with flies I also apply Manuka honey, then bag balm over that. I’ve never had to give the chickens an antibiotic and they do well with this treatment.

Thank you! I will try and find some iodine locally, I'm sure that is something I can get here. But what is bag balm? I'm new to all of this!
Just as an update, the hen is doing really well, she has recovered from the horrendous flystrike and is acting like nothing ever happened. It seems that we managed to drown all of the maggots. I still have her in my screened in porch though because she is missing a patch of skin on her belly and although it's clean and free of infection now, I'm afraid that once I let her back into the garden she will be vulnerable to flies and infection once again. But I think it will take many weeks for the skin to close up (the area is about the size of a credit card). I am torn because I don't like keeping her separate from the flock for too long. She can see them when they come around to visit her, but she gets distressed when they wander away again. Any advice welcome!

 

[Ducklady58]

Bag balm is basically lanolin enriched Vaseline. Since you have your chicken in a screened in porch, I really recommend putting manuka honey on the wound. If you have to let her out it helps if you can bandage it, using vet wrap to keep it on. One of our chickens was attacked by a hawk and the wound was massive.....we were able to heal her with this approach. So, Betadyne, manuka honey and bag balm are my basic go to remedies . I’ve dealt with fly strike several times......and this was my approach. I never had to use antibiotics. Hope this helps.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

You can find bag balm at any feed store including tractor supply, & maybe even walmart. It was originally created to sooth the skin of cow udders after milking. Bag balm now has many other uses, including that people use it on their own chapped and irritated skin. Bag Balm is very moisurizing and also contains an antiseptic ingredient. Its a great item to keep on hand.

 

[Matejka]

You can find bag balm at any feed store including tractor supply, & maybe even walmart. It was originally created to sooth the skin of cow udders after milking. Bag balm now has many other uses, including that people use it on their own chapped and irritated skin. Bag Balm is very moisurizing and also contains an antiseptic ingredient. Its a great item to keep on hand.

Op is in Africa? Not sure walmart/tsc is there.
Bag balm is vaseline with lanolin/thick skin conditioner, used to keep milkcow bags (udders) soft.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Op is in Africa? Not sure walmart/tsc is there.
Bag balm is vaseline with lanolin/thick skin conditioner, used to keep milkcow bags (udders) soft.

Oops i try to remember to look at locations, but this time forgot. (Mostly lately trying to make sure i dont reply to very old threads). Tu and good catch!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Permethrin breaks down rapidly in almost any mammal due to completely normal metabolic processes. Mostly glucuronidation. Cats have low levels of that enzyme compared to most mammals, and are more sensitive to the stuff. Its also REALLY bad for fish.

You put permethrin on your clothes not because its hazardous to you, but because you are hazardous to it. Your skin is actually quite good at denaturing the stuff, and your liver does the rest, for the less than 1% you typically absorb thru the skin.

The bottle labelling in both precautionary and apocalyptic because people are stupid. On the skin, its generally not hazardous, even at concentration well above recommended use. Consumed in quantity is a whole different story, but still, you'd have to drink a lot of it.

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/PermGen.html

http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/archive/Permtech.html


Irrigate, then find something else - iodine, betadine, etc for wound treatment and continue to manage as an open, draining wound.