Worming with Horse Wormer (Safeguard & Panacur)

[orrpeople]

The dark scabbish stuff around the wound appeared the day we de-maggoted her. Watching lots of videos showed vets sedating the animal to cut the dead skin away. I don't have the luxury of much vet $, so sadly that wasn't an option. The greenish stuff bugs me most. I have literally scrubbed until it bleeds and it won't go away. I did notice that an hour after I put the antibiotic cream on her, some of it peeled off. Ugh. She did eat a scrambled egg and a tablespoon of yogurt this morning and is clucking a bit more today.
Btw, and probably not in the best circumstances for introductions, I'm Kathy too.

 

[casportpony]

For a tube you can use a piece of aquarium air line with the end melted to remove sharp edges. 60 ml catheter tip syringe from Tractor Supply, and Kaytee Exact baby bird food from Petsmart or Petco.

 

[KsKingBee]

For a tube you can use a piece of aquarium air line with the end melted to remove sharp edges. 60 ml catheter tip syringe from Tractor Supply, and Kaytee Exact baby bird food from Petsmart or Petco.

And if the OP has a medical supply house in her town she can pick up a catheter, (size FR 18 to 24).

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I think you're doing a great job.
If she were mine. Can you post some pictures go the wound?

Okay, if she were mine I would:

• Weigh her daily
• Tube fluids - 8-12 ml per pound now, repeat in 60-90 minutes if crop has mostly cleared, then again in 2-4 hours.
• Once hydrated I would tube feed 8-23 ml per pound at least twice a day.
• Start antibiotics.

This link is one of the better tub feeding videos I have found: https://lafeber.com/vet/tube-feeding-birds/

Let me know if you want to tube feed and I'll post more info about the supplies and where you can get them.

I agree with Kathy...I think you're doing a fantastic job with the wound! Getting the maggots cleaned, the wound flushed well and keeping it clean is incredibly important and you're already doing that.

She's a lovely hen and looks so comfortable soaking...lol. That's really good too!

The wound I was imagining when I first started reading this was worse than the photo of her vent. It's great that you are applying a topical antibiotic. I'm not seeing the infection that Kathy may be seeing. To me, the pink skin around the wound doesn't appear angry, and the wound looks darkened and slightly swollen like exposed inner tissue. The fact that she doesn't have an appetite worries me the most and Kathy has given superb advice there. With the lack of appetite I might be inclined to give oral/injectable antibiotics as Kathy mentioned.

Are the two yellow areas fat the maggots ate into? The darkened area in between is tissue? If it were me, I wouldn't worry about the green stuff or the dead/damaged tissue. The body is amazing at sloughing all that stuff off at the right time. It's best not to irritate the exposed tissues so they can heal.

I had a big gelding that tore a large section of skin off his chest and because it's an area that has constant movement...the vet couldn't sew the skin back. The horse was left with a large gaping wound that I kept clean.. The dead skin eventually sloughed off and there was no visible scarring at all.

People who have sheep with fly strike usually spray and kill the maggots like you've done. An antibiotic is applied and an insecticide is applied to keep flies off the wounds. It's a huge thing in sheep. You're way ahead of the game because the hen can be kept inside and clean.

 

[orrpeople]

@casportpony , @Wickedchicken6 and @KsKingBee thank you so much for the amazing help through this ordeal. Good news, just as I was about ready to go get all set up for tube feeding, she ate about 20 meal worms, half a slice of multigrain bread and a big chunk of cantaloupe - then promptly fell asleep - probably wore herself out with that flurry of activity. She also has pooped a few times today - nice Nutri Drench smelling poops - making the whole house smell like fermented vitamins.
I tried to get her to walk around a little today. She limps a bit, then sits right down again. I'm wondering if, like people in hospitals, she should be walking more? She has spent a little more than

two days on our ottoman, not moving very much.

 

[Wickedchicken6]

@casportpony , @Wickedchicken6 and @KsKingBee thank you so much for the amazing help through this ordeal. Good news, just as I was about ready to go get all set up for tube feeding, she ate about 20 meal worms, half a slice of multigrain bread and a big chunk of cantaloupe - then promptly fell asleep - probably wore herself out with that flurry of activity. She also has pooped a few times today - nice Nutri Drench smelling poops - making the whole house smell like fermented vitamins.
I tried to get her to walk around a little today. She limps a bit, then sits right down again. I'm wondering if, like people in hospitals, she should be walking more? She has spent a little more than View attachment 1061953 two days on our ottoman, not moving very much.

That's fantastic news! And a very good sign.

I don't have specific knowledge on this...but I agree with you and I would think it would do her good to move some. That gets the blood flowing and everything moving and probably helps deter any other complications that might arise from not moving enough.

She looks so sweet sitting there with her food bar, one would never guess that she has anything wrong.

 

[KsKingBee]

Help me understand something. I have seen where hospitals will use maggots in burn treatments to eat the dead flesh. As I understand it the maggots will not eat living flesh but only dead flesh. Is there something different about 'flystrike'?

 

[Wickedchicken6]

I've wondered that too. So I looked it up. Helps to understand flystrike.

I know it's the best choice in some cases...I don't know if I could do it.
I clicked on the pic of the debridement of the diabetic foot at the beginning.
Big mistake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggot_therapy

Biology of maggots

Those flies whose larvae feed on dead animals will sometimes lay their eggs on the dead parts (necrotic or gangrenous tissue) of living animals. The infestation by maggots of live animals is called "myiasis." Some maggots will feed only on dead tissue, some only on live tissue, and some on live or dead tissue. The flies used most often for the purpose of maggot therapy are blow flies of the Calliphoridae: the blow fly species used most commonly is Lucilia sericata, the common green bottle fly. Another important species, Protophormia terraenovae, is also notable for its feeding secretions, which combat infection by Streptococcus pyogenes and S. pneumoniae.[14

 

[orrpeople]

I've wondered that too. So I looked it up. Helps to understand flystrike.

I know it's the best choice in some cases...I don't know if I could do it.
I clicked on the pic of the debridement of the diabetic foot at the beginning.
Big mistake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggot_therapy

Biology of maggots

Those flies whose larvae feed on dead animals will sometimes lay their eggs on the dead parts (necrotic or gangrenous tissue) of living animals. The infestation by maggots of live animals is called "myiasis." Some maggots will feed only on dead tissue, some only on live tissue, and some on live or dead tissue. The flies used most often for the purpose of maggot therapy are blow flies of the Calliphoridae: the blow fly species used most commonly is Lucilia sericata, the common green bottle fly. Another important species, Protophormia terraenovae, is also notable for its feeding secretions, which combat infection by Streptococcus pyogenes and S. pneumoniae.[14

The vultures of the maggot world...

 

[orrpeople]

Short update. Today is my hen's first full day back outside. She has had some social time in the mornings and evenings, and slept with them the last two nights, but today when I brought her in for wound care, she was "full of it" and definitely wanted to go back out. A lot of the scabbing has sluffed off, the exposed part of the wound has become "leathery", her skin near the wound is a nice pink color, but it's still a pretty big hole. She limps a bit (if I had a wound like that I think I would probably limp too), but could run away from me when I tried to catch her. The other girls haven't pecked at her - nothing red to interest them. So, I'm just playing it by ear for now, but am so grateful for all the great words of wisdom and help through this horrific ordeal!!