Sick chicken

[sarahlee]

A few days ago, I noticed 1 of my 3 chickens had a very dirty vent area. Thought nothing of it as it has been raining a lot and the coop got flooded. She was acting fine. Today, she has low energy, but is walking around; has a very pale comb; is eating; head drawn in; ruffled feathers; tail feathers droopy. After closer inspection of the vent area, very dirty from poo, swollen looking, some black and yellow discharge. It also appears that she has lost some feathers underneath her tail feathers. There is also a bad odor coming from this area as well, it is not very strong, but almost smells "rotten". The other 2 chickens appear and are acting fine. A very tiny amount of white stool noticed on one of the seemingly unaffected chickens. Any suggestions??

 

[Judy]

I would soak her in a tub or sink with a little mild soap for a little while to get her clean, then examine her closely, including slightly inside the vent. The smell sounds loike she has a wound that flies have laid their eggs in which leands to rotten tissue. If present, you will need to pick the maggots out and keep her indoors until healed; I would use some Neosporin on the wound.

 

[sarahlee]

After closer inspection, she has an ulceration next to the vent. It's approximately 1 1/2" deep. It was filled with maggots. My husband cleaned out as much as he could and as much as she would tolerate. She was soaked in warm water for quite a while. She was cleaned the best we could and some feathers were trimmed from the area to try to keep it clean. I feel the wound may be infected. I'm hoping that what maggots remain will help clean the wound. I'm thinking she needs to be treated with an antibiotic and electrolytes, but I don't know what to get. She was kept inside last night with a heat lamp. She will be living in the house for a little while. Can neosporin be used if maggots are still present? Also, her poo is runny and black, it just doesn't look right. Should I treat the other 2 chickens? I'm thinking I should as I don't know what caused this in the first place, but I don't know what to treat them with...

 

[casportpony]

You need to get the rest of the maggots out.

-Kathy

 

[Judy]

You need to get the rest of the maggots out.

-Kathy

Yup.