UPDATED: I was wrong about what I was seeing, it is not a vent issue, it is a hole created by a severe fly strike directly under the vent.
Hello, I have a approx 4yo Wyandotte who is in trouble. Yesterday afternoon I found her in penguin stance, away from the others. Her butt was wet and she was being harassed by yellow jackets (they were interested in her rear end). I gave her a bath and a 15-20 min soak in epsom salts, and discovered a hard lump approximately egg sized on her underside,and her vent was gaping open. I can see what looks like a dark mass (possibly fecal matter) and flystrike inside. It is horrible. I was able to dislodge two of the maggots but not all. I gave her a calcium and D3, but not sure if I should continue, I dont know this is egg binding (not 100% sure but dont believe she is currently laying, most of our girls have slowed or stopped for the season and molt, and she has some pin feathers coming in so I believe she is at the tail end of molting). I sprayed the area with peroxide, blow dried her and she spent the night in a dog crate in a warm area with water/ nutridrench. She ate some scratch with the others before I put her up, pooped twice (it was largely liquid with some tiny bits of normal looking poop). Her crop was empty in the morning. There was a normal looking poop in the crate this morning (which really surprised me), and it looks like she drank a decent amount of water. I tried to handle her to get a look to see any changes and she went crazy (we got her as an adult and shes always been one of our more skittish hens, not ok with being handled). The smell is awful and she has not expelled anything other than the one poop that I could see. Letting her rest again for a minute, going to give her a breakfast of scrambled eggs, coconut oil and wet feed, another rest to digest a little, and then another, longer epsom soak. I will be able to get a better look when she is wet, and if I can keep her under control/ not stress her too much will get pictures. Planning on massaging the lump, and after soak and with mineral oil see if I can get any of it out and any maggots i didnt kill. Not sure if this second part is advisable, or how aggressive I should be. If it is not soft would I be better off continuing with soaks? The baths stress her out a lot but I dont think she has a chance if I dont. Any other advice/ reccommendations/ things I should be trying or be aware of? Should I continue with calcium if she is likely not laying? I have some pyrethrin (natural form) I use in the garden, is this something I should try on the maggots if I cannot get them all/ if there could be more I dont see, and does anyone have a dilution reccommendation for it if it is usable? She is clearly very much not well but she has a lot of energy and fight in her. Her comb is a little dull but on par with the other currently molting birds, but goes bright red when I stress her by handling. Im planning on going to TS after I get her settled from next soak to get veterycin and anything else reccommended.
Additional info if helpful, the flock is currently on 20% protein Naturewise allflock (we feed this when they are molting and over the winter), with free choice oyster shell and occasional crumbled egg shell (I've been slack on the oyster shell the past month, they emptied the bowl at some point and I wasn't really paying attention because they have been molting). When they are laying they receive layer feed. They are largely free range, receive some scratch a couple times a week, and occasional veggie/ fruit scraps (ie squash guts, apple, leafy greens). No other hens are exhibiting any symptoms of illness, and we have been very fortunate and not had many health issues to deal with in the 5 years we have had chickens. Im not sure how long this hen has been sick, I began to notice her acting off about 4 days ago (not coming out of the coop right away, or leaving the run with the others when I let them out), but a friend who is recovering from surgury is currently staying with me and she has a dog that gave them a scare (no injuries, but chased them when he escaped from a fenced area), so I foolishly chalked it up to having been scared. Until yesterday she had still been eventually exiting the run and joining the flock.
Any help is hugely appreciated.
Hello, I have a approx 4yo Wyandotte who is in trouble. Yesterday afternoon I found her in penguin stance, away from the others. Her butt was wet and she was being harassed by yellow jackets (they were interested in her rear end). I gave her a bath and a 15-20 min soak in epsom salts, and discovered a hard lump approximately egg sized on her underside,
Additional info if helpful, the flock is currently on 20% protein Naturewise allflock (we feed this when they are molting and over the winter), with free choice oyster shell and occasional crumbled egg shell (I've been slack on the oyster shell the past month, they emptied the bowl at some point and I wasn't really paying attention because they have been molting). When they are laying they receive layer feed. They are largely free range, receive some scratch a couple times a week, and occasional veggie/ fruit scraps (ie squash guts, apple, leafy greens). No other hens are exhibiting any symptoms of illness, and we have been very fortunate and not had many health issues to deal with in the 5 years we have had chickens. Im not sure how long this hen has been sick, I began to notice her acting off about 4 days ago (not coming out of the coop right away, or leaving the run with the others when I let them out), but a friend who is recovering from surgury is currently staying with me and she has a dog that gave them a scare (no injuries, but chased them when he escaped from a fenced area), so I foolishly chalked it up to having been scared. Until yesterday she had still been eventually exiting the run and joining the flock.
Any help is hugely appreciated.
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