Topic of the Week - Fly Strike

[kayleysmomma]

I give my chickens probiotics, electrolytes, and oregano oil regularly. We have not had any problems at all. And it's been pretty wet here too!

How much oregano oil do you give? How often and how do you adminster it?

 

[amurphy89]

I had no idea this was an issue either! Blah! I noticed flies were excessively bad this year. I have two fly paper rolls up in the coop (run) near the chicken houses to catch stray flies and I have one of those Rescue fly catchers outside of the coop and near my composters. Despite the nauseating smell of the thing...it does work extremely well. After a day or two I noticed a significant drop in the amount of flies around. My issue is the girls try to catch the trapped flies on the fly paper so I have to be careful to hang it out of their reach - to my surprise many of them were able to jump or flap/fly higher than I anticipated. I also practice the deep litter method in the coop and frequently rake that to turn over waste. I have occasionally added Chic Flic to some areas that the rain hits and I noticed that seems to deter the flies as well....but not as well as the fly paper or Rescue trap.

 

[amurphy89]

It's best to trap flies away from the coop, you don't want flies congregating there...I place fly traps far away!!!!

 

[BlueEyes51]

I have a huge fly problem this year so I am watching this also. Thanks for bringing attention to this scary topic.

 

[BlueEyes51]

It's best to trap flies away from the coop, you don't want flies congregating there...I place fly traps far away!!!!

I plan on doing this also... how far away would you suggest?

 

[misschick3]

I,m in Australia and suffering 0-4c temps at the moment. Last summer was extremely hot here and I had an older chicken experience fly strike. She had been scratching and preening herself silly despite being treated with Ivermectin. On investigation I discovered a large patch 4x2 of infested skin on her rear which I immediately treated with everything I could get my hands on. It healed over nicely with continued treatment but she succumbed to another problem a few months later. Considering she was 19 years old I think she did well.
But how I think she picked up the maggots was something I hadn't thought of. I was having broken eggs in the nest problems and on inspection I discovered the egg remains had become a target for blowflies and I believe she was a target. She would sit in the box each day even though she never laid.
I usually have a spray bottle of Nucidol mixed up which I use in the coop for flies and mossies. This year I think I may use a fly trap.

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have only had this happen once but I can tell ya it has made me much more aware of the back end of my chickens. Messy butts get attention right away. I clip and also use Oxine ah or Veterycin to spray any one who doesn't look quite right. Warm water would also work. But since I started using the Big Ole Bird probiotics I rarely see a messy bottom. I worm also. I also keep my bedding thick and clean out the wet poo daily which keeps the flies out of the coops. I use neem oil mixed with hot water inside my coops also.

 

[orrpeople]

Learning the hard way (that should be my nick name) - fly strike doesn't just happen with poopy butted birds. It doesn't just happen in "fly infested" areas. It doesn't just happen if the coop run area is dirty. (Although, all of those are definitely indicators, and we should always be taking care of all of those as a matter of simple responsible chicken ownership.)
It only takes one fly and one unaware bird - like my "Cabbage". If I could describe her, I would say she is fiercely independent, and rather a "Tom boy". She spends little time in front of our big picture window preening herself with the rest of the girls, and is most often found out in the orchard sneaking up on some unsuspecting bug. She's not a poopy bird, and we keep coops and runs very clean. We haven't even had much of a fly issue this year.
And yet...yet...she was one of those cases to which @casportpony was referring. I thought she had worms. Thankfully I was directed to deal with the situation differently ("fly strike" had come across my screen in times past, but even reading about it did not prepare me for making the correct initial diagnosis). Thankfully, after many betadine baths, applications of antibiotic cream, vitamin/probiotic ingestions, and generally scrubbing and flushing her wound several times a day, her wound has turned to "leather" and is slowly healing up. She still limps a bit, but is back to her feisty, independent ways. Here's a couple pics (sorry I don't have one of the wound healing yet) this is the hole the maggots left:

This is bathing the wound:

This is where she spent a week, pretty much sleeping and being force fed until she finally did it on her own!

 

[Abriana]

I never knew what a serious problem the maggots were till I started on BYC. I was horrified of the damage it caused and that when the maggots ran out of decaying flesh, they would destroy healthy as well. Also they can migrate through the body and reach the brain. Sounded like an alien from space. I have tried warning people that are treating wounded birds NOT to put them outside till the areas are healed. They think I am a blabbering fool.

How do you tell if your birds have maggots? Not that I'm worried that my birds might, but it is always good to know!

 

[Abriana]

Learning the hard way (that should be my nick name) - fly strike doesn't just happen with poopy butted birds. It doesn't just happen in "fly infested" areas. It doesn't just happen if the coop run area is dirty. (Although, all of those are definitely indicators, and we should always be taking care of all of those as a matter of simple responsible chicken ownership.)
It only takes one fly and one unaware bird - like my "Cabbage". If I could describe her, I would say she is fiercely independent, and rather a "Tom boy". She spends little time in front of our big picture window preening herself with the rest of the girls, and is most often found out in the orchard sneaking up on some unsuspecting bug. She's not a poopy bird, and we keep coops and runs very clean. We haven't even had much of a fly issue this year.
And yet...yet...she was one of those cases to which @casportpony was referring. I thought she had worms. Thankfully I was directed to deal with the situation differently ("fly strike" had come across my screen in times past, but even reading about it did not prepare me for making the correct initial diagnosis). Thankfully, after many betadine baths, applications of antibiotic cream, vitamin/probiotic ingestions, and generally scrubbing and flushing her wound several times a day, her wound has turned to "leather" and is slowly healing up. She still limps a bit, but is back to her feisty, independent ways. Here's a couple pics (sorry I don't have one of the wound healing yet) this is the hole the maggots left:
View attachment 1070294
This is bathing the wound:
View attachment 1070299
This is where she spent a week, pretty much sleeping and being force fed until she finally did it on her own!
View attachment 1070303

LOVE the one of her in the bath. She is like a little princess! So cute.