Will she survive?

[GHJ1]

Our new hen (approx 10 weeks old Sussex/Plymouth x) got out a few days ago, she turned up today with a maggot infested wound (looks like a cat bite?). I've washed it (and most of her) in saltwater with Tea Tree oil, picked out all the maggots I could find (yuck!) and smothered the wound in Savlon antiseptic cream. What are her chances?

No vets near us will see chickens.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

It looks rough but she could make it. They're tough creatures. The maggots may have been a good thing, consuming the tissue that wasn't salvageable.

 

[ellend]

Since I pick up injured and orphaned animals, I have become unhappily proficient in maggot removal. Watch her wound very carefully; look for ANY appearance of movement near an entrance hole. If you suspect a maggot could be in the tissue, drip a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide into the wound, and stand by with your tweezers! They will poke out of the hole briefly--you have to grab the nasty quickly. It may take several attempts. Keep doing this until there is definitely NO maggot left, or they'll keep burrowing. Every time I have removed maggots before they were able to get into eyes, umbilical cord/abdomen, or inside genitals, the animal has healed beautifully. Good luck! Do remember to check her carefully for more fly eggs (like tiny, miniature grains of rice, stuck together in little clumps. Check anywhere that is moist, and keep her where flies can't reach her until she heals.