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PLEASE HELP! Chicks born with maggots?

Discussion in 'Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures' started by Mrs. BJ Hensley Jr., Jul 23, 2010.

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  1. Jul 23, 2010 #1
    Mrs. BJ Hensley Jr.

    Mrs. BJ Hensley Jr. Songster

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    PLEASE HELP! Very strange situation. My sister in law has a settin hen whos eggs hatched today. one chick came half way out and them hollred out loud.she peeled a piece of the outer shell back to see what was the matter and it hd what she called a brown maggot looking thing on its wing and another on its hip. this mysterious critter was eating the chick before it ever piped! what was it? the "bug" had ridges . 2 big ones were brown and 4 small ones were white.
     
  2. Jul 23, 2010 #2
    Aframechickens191

    Aframechickens191 Chirping

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    Yikes that is very disturbing..... [​IMG] of all the things to have happen to a chick! ugh i have no idea what this could be...ive never heard of such a thing! i hope someone on here will know!
     
  3. Jul 23, 2010 #3
    SmittenChicken

    SmittenChicken Songster

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    Ooh, that is creepy.
    Does she know for sure that the insects were inside the egg with the chick when it started hatching? It seems more likely that they were in the nest and crawled into the egg once the chick created a hole in the shell.

    How big was the thing? Did it look like a centipede, or more like a mealworm? If she caught the thing and is able to get a picture that would be really helpful. And was she able to save the chick?!
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2010
  4. Jul 23, 2010 #4
    Mrs. BJ Hensley Jr.

    Mrs. BJ Hensley Jr. Songster

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    there is no more insect to take a picture of. she killd them all when se found them. they actually ate quite a bit of the wing. the baby is still alive and seems ok but anything could happen at any time. the bugs looked just like maggos and were 1/2" small white ones and 1" big browm ones. it was only 4 hours from pip to hatch. she actually had to "pull it off the chick". apparently the biggest one was th one that was latched on and eating.
     
  5. Jul 23, 2010 #5
    Aframechickens191

    Aframechickens191 Chirping

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    [​IMG] maybe a case of roundworms gone wrong?
     
  6. Jul 23, 2010 #6
    Aframechickens191

    Aframechickens191 Chirping

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    You should ask if the awful thing looked like this:

    [​IMG][/img]

    this is a type of roundworm which lives in the internal tracts of chickens if the chickens contract it from earthworms they have eaten. maybe one somehow survived in the oviduct of the hen that layed the egg and fed off the chick to get so big?
    this makes me want to be sick.....and im not a queasy sort of person either...ugh the poor chick...

    *edit* Found this on E-how.com
     
    Last edited: Jul 23, 2010
  7. Jul 23, 2010 #7
    kingmilo0508

    kingmilo0508 Hatching

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    i think i found some of those in my chicken coup, omg,
     
  8. Jul 23, 2010 #8
    Sir Birdaholic

    Sir Birdaholic Night Knight

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    Did you post a wrong picture? [​IMG] I'm pretty sure that's a young centipede. [​IMG] I see legs. [​IMG]
     
  9. Jul 23, 2010 #9
    Aframechickens191

    Aframechickens191 Chirping

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    yeah, i wondered the same thing lol but thats the pic that showed up on the e-how page with a description about the parasite.....[​IMG] no idea. all i know is that if i ever find one on a just hatched chick i am going to need some serious therapy afterwords...
     
  10. Jul 23, 2010 #10
    Sir Birdaholic

    Sir Birdaholic Night Knight

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    Greers Ferry Lake,Arkansas
    Quote:[​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
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