Poultry Fly Strike...a cautionary tale with GRAPHIC photo progression.

[stellas mommy]

Holy friggin cow!!! That is terrible!!! Reminds me of the chicken next door that had it. Poor thing, her butt looked so much more worse though, all I could think is how long has she been like this and why havent you seen it sooner? It was a silver laced though and alot older by the looks of it.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I'm so happy to hear the good news... What an experience you and especially your duck has been through.

 

[Chookman]

Hi. We had fly strike just like this with one of our Isa Browns (not as bad as these pics - we caught it early).

We fixed it quite easily. I thought I would share our method.

Initially we thought the Chook was egg-bound. So we filled a plastic tub with warm (not hot) water (in between lukewarm and the temperature you would bath in, if that makes sense). We put her in the bath making sure her butt was completely covered.

After about 10-15 minutes we noticed what looked like seeds floating in the water. The seeds wriggled and we realised they were maggots. She started eating them. We kept her in the water for another 15 minutes (about half an hour in total) to make sure the maggots were off her. The maggots seem to need air, so if you keep her butt submerged for more than 10 minutes, they let go and look for air.

The next two days we did the same thing, except we added a good quantity of sea salt to the warm water. We kept her in it for 15-20 minutes. The salt water is great for healing. By the third day she was 100% recovered and about 10 days later she started laying again.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Hi. We had fly strike just like this with one of our Isa Browns (not as bad as these pics - we caught it early).

We fixed it quite easily. I thought I would share our method.

Initially we thought the Chook was egg-bound. So we filled a plastic tub with warm (not hot) water (in between lukewarm and the temperature you would bath in, if that makes sense). We put her in the bath making sure her butt was completely covered.

After about 10-15 minutes we noticed what looked like seeds floating in the water. The seeds wriggled and we realised they were maggots. She started eating them. We kept her in the water for another 15 minutes (about half an hour in total) to make sure the maggots were off her. The maggots seem to need air, so if you keep her butt submerged for more than 10 minutes, they let go and look for air.

The next two days we did the same thing, except we added a good quantity of sea salt to the warm water. We kept her in it for 15-20 minutes. The salt water is great for healing. By the third day she was 100% recovered and about 10 days later she started laying again.

Thanks for sharing this it may come in handy next yr when hot weather hits.

 

[Pharm Girl]

I wish I had taken a picture before I gave her over to her new owner. She made a full recovery and now resides at the previous poster (Stella's Mommy)'s house with the rest of our flock. We ended up selling the house and moving to temporary housing until we can find another one. Stella's Mommy kindly took in my flock and I owe her big time!
With the antibiotic injection and salve, she healed up in no time. My husband also had luck with submerging the maggots, however they had tunneled all the way up her side! The vet ended up doing some serious flushing to get them all. Poor bird.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I wish I had taken a picture before I gave her over to her new owner. She made a full recovery and now resides at the previous poster (Stella's Mommy)'s house with the rest of our flock. We ended up selling the house and moving to temporary housing until we can find another one. Stella's Mommy kindly took in my flock and I owe her big time!
With the antibiotic injection and salve, she healed up in no time. My husband also had luck with submerging the maggots, however they had tunneled all the way up her side! The vet ended up doing some serious flushing to get them all. Poor bird.

Happy to hear she recovered great job.

 

[Chickenfan4life]

It's amazing that she's doing so well. But, ugh, the photos made me gag! Lol!

 

[pawprint2104]

This is a great, informative thread about fly strike. Thank you. I think my hen just went through this. I'll keep a closer eye on her from now on, so we don't have this problem, ever, again.

 

[XtremeRooster]

I'm new to raising chickens. Does anybody know how common this is? It seems like the more I learn the more willing I am to throw in the towel. I live in a humid climate and the flys get bad. My hens have not started laying yet I am not in the habit of checking their butts. I was always told maggots will only eat dead flesh. Why would they eat the chicken if there was not an open wound?

 

[Pharm Girl]

The flies will lay eggs on the feces stuck on the chickens behinds. Buffy was my only chicken to have issues keeping clean in the vent area. Clearly, once the maggots hatch, they will eat the bird from the outside in!